


Kill Me, Heal Me

by bluehyun



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol, Drug Use, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Violence, poor!ong, rich!minhyun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-03-28 23:53:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13914870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluehyun/pseuds/bluehyun
Summary: 9 years ago, Ong Seongwoo experienced real pain for the first time in his life. It isn’t until he crosses paths with Hwang Minhyun 9 years later, that he learns to face his pain.





	1. Prologue

The shade of blue was painted in one clean stroke across the summer sky, the heat blazing down on Seongwoo. He adjusted his baseball cap to shield his eyes from the vibrant sun. It was a typical summer day for the seven year old. The adults used the word “small” to describe his neighborhood, but through adventures deep in the nearby woods and abandoned houses, “small” was the last word Seongwoo would use.

Today, he stood on the outskirts of the small fair that was taking place a few blocks away from his house. Originally, he planned to go with his father, but “duty calls” he said, and took off with an orange vest. Seongwoo wasn’t afraid to be by himself. He had a whistle around his neck that his father gave him and told him to blow it whenever he needs his father.

 _“Even if I am a thousand miles away,”_ His father leaned in and poked the whistle that dangled on his son’s chest. _“Blow this whistle, and I’ll hear you. I’ll be there.”_

It was at that moment, he heard a faint cry. His head twisted in the direction of the voice and immediately, he saw a boy, probably his age, crying by himself.

Seongwoo approached the boy. “Why are you crying?”

The boy ignored his question and continued to cry. He looked more frightened now that Seongwoo had approached him, which kind of irritated him. He pondered on what to do and felt more awkward as the boy's wailing was getting attention. It looked like he was bullying the boy, so he had to solve the issue quickly. As he frantically looked around, he spotted a shop across from them that sold stuffed animals and other children's toys. Earlier he stored loose change in his pocket that he was saving for a snack later in the day. Without hesitation, he went up to the shop owner and handed her all of his change.

“Which one do you want?” She asked. “And where are your parents?”

“I’ll take that one.” Seongwoo pointed, ignoring her second question. His index finger was pressed against the cheek of a fox doll. It was kind of goofy looking and it's head was way too big but it was oddly cute to look at.

The lady handed him the fox doll with a kind smile. Seongwoo bowed, gave the lady thanks, and stomped back to the crying boy. He shoved the fox doll into his chest, so intensely that the boy let out a wheeze and stumbled backwards.

“Here, take this.” Seongwoo said. “Look, it's cute. Now stop crying.”

The boy sniffled. He raised the fox doll up into the air to give it a good stare. “No, It’s ugly.” He squeezed a fox doll tightly against his chest and squeezed his eyes to push back tears. Seongwoo sighed and patted the boy on the head.

“I can’t find my mom.” The boy whimpered. “She needs me.”

“I’ll help you find your mom.” Seongwoo took the boys hand and headed down the street with him.

At first, the boy looked a bit reluctant to follow him, but Seongwoo was confident. He talked to everyone on the street, giving the details of his mother that the boy gave him. Everyone was eager to help and listen because Seongwoo was the sunshine of this town.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked.

His father always told him to never give out his name to strangers.

“Ong.” It was his last name. It was very uncommon, so he believed he was safe.

“Hong?”

“No, _Ong._ ”

“Wong?”

“It’s Ong! Are you messing with me?” Seongwoo frowned. "You're quite the brat."

"I'm not a brat! _You_ should learn to be more polite."

"You're the one who called my gift ugly!"

The boy puffed his cheeks and turned away. He crossed his arms and looked back at Seongwoo. “Well...Aren’t you going to ask for my name?”

“No, don’t feel like it.” Facing forward, Seongwoo held back a smile at the sight of the boy frowning at his response.

"Eh? You're weird."

In the distance, Seongwoo saw a woman crying into her hands in front of two police officers. The one standing to her left was the first to notice the two boys, still holding hands, and pointed at them. He mouthed something, nudging at the woman. When she looked up, her tears glistened in the sun, and immediately Seongwoo could tell that was the boys mother.

The boy broke out into a sprint, calling for his mother and she held him as they cried in each others arms. She didn’t seem to care that her knees were pressed against the solid ground or how she looked wailing so loudly in public. So, was this how mothers were like? Seongwoo wouldn’t know. Dad said mom went away a long time ago. He reached the age where he knew what death was, and he knew that his mother could never return. He never knew her, so he wasn't engulfed with sadness at the mere thought of her. Everything he learned about his mother was from stories his father told him and photographs.

But seeing the boy hold his mother so tightly, the purest form of love circling between them, he couldn’t help but wonder... _what if?_

No, he knew better than to think like that.

The police officers approached Seongwoo and patted him on the head.

“You’re Ong’s son aren’t you?” The police officer seemed to recognize his father. “You’re a good boy. Next time I see your dad at the construction site, I’ll make sure to tell him you did a good thing today.”

The boy finally let go of his mom’s embrace. Snot hung down his nose, so his mother pulled her sleeve to clean his face.

“Mom, this is the boy that helped me find you!”

She approached Seongwoo slowly before opening her arms and bringing his body close to her. “Thank you for finding my son and bringing him to me. I was so worried.”

Was this how a mother’s embrace felt? It was so warm. As if his body was in a trace, his arms lifted and wrapped around her. 

“I must repay you somehow.” She insisted. “Do you want food? Toys? Money?”

Seongwoo shook his head. “I don’t want anything.” It was true. He didn’t help the lost boy to gain anything. He wondered if it was normal for people to always do things expecting a reward at the end.

“If you won’t accept those...Wait, I know.” She rolled up her sleeve and took out her bracelet, made of light blue beads. Gently, she lifted Seongwoo’s wrist and put the bracelet on him. “Here. It’s a bracelet I made myself. I want you to have it.”

It rested nicely on Seongwoo’s left wrist. “Thank you.” He hugged her again.

Not long after, Seongwoo said farewell to the boy and his mother. He wondered if he would see them again, as he did not recognize them from his neighborhood or the boy from his school. The police officers walked Seongwoo back him safely.

At home, his eyes watched the ceiling fan. He lifted his wrist into the air and his vision focused on the bracelet that hugged his wrist. This was his first gift from a mother. In a way, he found it nice. The image of the boy flashed in his head and the way he spoke, cried, and held onto the fox doll he bought was engraved in his mind.

Seongwoo wished he asked for his name.


	2. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo enters the world of the rich.

"The time is now ten sharp and you all know what that means! Yes, it's time to announce the winners of yesterday's speed game, which you can all download through this school's app! With a total of fourteen out of fifteen questions correct, Jung Minjee is our winner! As promised, you will receive two front row tickets to Red Velvet's upcoming concert. Please go to the front desk to pick it up. That's all for today's announcements. Until next time."  
  
The brightly red tinted LIVE sign dimmed to black. Seongwoo took off his headphones and slid his chair back. He looked at the other side of the glass where his best friend gave him an eager thumbs up. He cleaned his food off his station and grabbed his jacket that rested on the coat hanger.  
  
"Nice announcement!" Daniel praised, throwing his arm over Seongwoo's shoulder as they strided their way down the hallways. "You're making everyone else look bad."  
  
"As if anyone here would let _me_ bring them down." Seongwoo scoffed.  
  
It was true. Seongwoo was attending his third year in Seoul University, known as the most prestigious and expensive university in South Korea, and one of the best in the world. He couldn't even afford a tenth of the tuition cost. But thanks to his grades, he received a full ride scholarship as long as he kept his grades up. There were only a few other scholarship students, but they all stayed hidden, so he was the most "popular" out of all of his peers; they called him "the cool commoner".   
  
It was odd that his entire image was defined by the amount of money he had, but then again, he didn't care what people thought about him. He'd gone through too much to let someone's measly opinions upset him. He had more important issues, like graduating university and finding a stable career.   
  
"Isn't it funny though?" Daniel said. "Everyone in this school can afford to buy the entire venue for the concert, yet they continue to participate in these contests to win tickets fairly."

"That includes you, Mr. Kang Daniel." Seongwoo pointed.

"Yeah, I definitely got tickets." He casually reached into his pocket and flashed the tickets out in the air. Seongwoo rolled his eyes. "But that contest was your idea, and you know we're all suckers for commoners games."

"Just because I'm of lower class doesn't mean every game I suggest is a _commoners game_! What does that even mean?"

"You know, games like kick the can or hide and seek."

"I haven't played those games since I was a kid." 

Kang Daniel was the eldest son of the CEO of Ganghan Entertainment. After the big three companies in South Korea, Ganghan was definitely next in line. They managed idol groups, models, actors and hip hop artists. Daniel attended concerts all the time, but mostly for business purposes. Daniel claimed one time Irene from Red Velvet glared at him. Seongwoo wished he was that lucky.

Although the boy could literally _shit_ gold out of his anus, he was rather down to Earth. Like many college students, he prioritized sleep over studying and procrastinated until the last minute to work on his essays. Daniel's motto was _"If tomorrow isn't the due date, today isn't the do date!"_ The fellow also spent most of his free time at the cat cafe near the school and loved eating fast food ever since Seongwoo made them go to Subway that one time.

Daniel suddenly halted in his tracks. "So...I have a fun idea."  
  
"No, I will not accompany you to a party."  
  
"That was fast! How'd you know?"  
  
"Because you ask me to come with you to a party every week!" Seongwoo groaned. "I always say no, then you try to bribe me with money - in which the answer is still  _no_ because I don't want your damn cash, and then the next day I wake up to texts and ten voice mails of you piss drunk."

"First of all, I know you love my voicemails."

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do - wait, don't change the subject! This is different, just hear me out."  
  
"Nope, I can't hear you!" Seongwoo covered his ears and sprinted down the hallway. Can't hear him, can't hear him, can't hear him. . .  
  
"You'll get paid for it!" Daniel yelled, his voice spreading to the end of the empty hallway. Seongwoo caught wind of his friend's muffled scream and removed his palms from his ears. He twisted his heel and gave him a weary stare.  
  
"Well... Go on."  
  
"I know you won't accept my money out of the blue, but that's not what this is." Daniel explained. "One of the families my father is connected to is having a party in two days. The guy who's running it is cool too, he's a friend of mine. He's preparing for the party as we speak and he's still looking for servants. If you work that evening, you're guaranteed to make amazing tips from all the rich people there."

Seongwoo liked the sound of being paid.

Daniel grinned at the excited expression on Seongwoo's face. "Training is tomorrow at three pm sharp. I'll text you the address. They'll tell you all the details about the party then."

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo was thirteen when he lost his father.

For the past nine years, he lived with his aunt, who ran a bed and breakfast. Her husband died when she was young and she never remarried. They never had kids either, so she treated Seongwoo like her own son, for which he was grateful for. His aunt grew older with each passing year, illness slowly taking over her body as well, and last year she finally decided to close the rooms upstairs and simply run a restaurant downstairs. 

At first, he was reluctant to leave the house for school out of concern for his aunt. High school was fine because it was only a few blocks away, but Seoul University was an hour train ride away with long lectures and a lot of hours. With a lot of persuasion, food bribery, and constant text spam, he was able to convince his old underclassmen, Park Jihoon and Park Woojin, to help manage the restaurant while Seongwoo wasn't home. In exchange for their help, they were allowed to stay in one of the room's above for free. They graduated high school two years after Seongwoo and needed a place to stay while they attended the nearby college because dorms were far too expensive. 

When Seongwoo took the train home that day, he was greeted by his aunt who was working hard in the kitchen. Immediately, he threw on his work vest and helped out on the floor. His heart hurt seeing his aunt so frail. 

In middle school, Seongwoo considered not going to college so he could help his aunt full time. When he asked for her opinion, she broke down in tears, Seongwoo hadn't seen his aunt in such a terrible state since his father's death. He apologized for upsetting her and she embraced him and begged him to stay in school. His father never finished high school. It was his dream for Seongwoo to go to University and get a stable career. 

That day, she made Seongwoo promise he'd never get a job.

And later that evening, Seongwoo went into his closet and took out a white button down shirt, black pants and brown dress shoes. They were handed down from his father who used to wear them to his job interviews. His aunt's pleas echoed in his head and he pressed his hand against his chest. He was breaking his promise, but when he saw her rising medical bills and weakening state, he knew he had no other choice.

 

* * *

 

The next day came quicker than Seongwoo anticipated. As promised, Daniel texted him the address of the house he was supposed to cater to. Although he didn't see the point in the end because at two thirty, a guest arrived at the door.

"Seongwoo! There's a man here who says he's waiting for you."

"Huh?" Seongwoo said, in between brushing his teeth. He spat out his toothpaste, washed his mouth and ran downstairs.

At the entrance, he was greeted by Daniel's personal chauffeur.

"Hello, Master Ong. I was requested by Master Kang to take you to the Kwon Residence today." The driver bowed politely. He was dressed in the most cliche outfit Seongwoo had ever seen - satin white gloves, suspenders, a fancy tuxedo with a bow tie, and a black cabbie hat.

"Hm, what's going on Seongwoo? Why are you so dressed up on a Saturday?" His aunt asked.

"He's probably going on a date." Jihoon said from behind the counter.

"Is that true?" His aunt said, eyes welling up with tears. "Y-Your first date...You should have told me."

"You're making auntie cry!" Woojin fake gasped.

"It's not a - ugh. I'm going to make a call. Excuse me." Seongwoo gritted his teeth. He stomped outside and closed the door behind him. He angrily dialed Daniel's number. _Pick up bastard._  
  
"Hey, did you see my surprise-"  
  
"I told you I was fine with taking the bus!"

"Okay, guess you saw it. Come on, if they see you arriving after coming out of the bus how do you think that'll make you look?"  
  
"I don't care! I'm not getting a ride from your personal driver!"  
  
"He drove all the way to Incheon from Seoul, don't make him drive back! Plus, I already paid him!"

"Then refund him!"

"You know I can't do that-"

"I'm hanging up now."

He sucked in his breath and shoved his phone into his pocket. He looked up at Daniel's personal driver, who had a completely serious expression on his face. Was he a robot? He waved his hand in the air, moving left and right, and the driver's eyes slowly followed. Weird.

He stared out the window and saw the limousine parked outside. His neighbors surrounded the vehicle, eyes glistening with amazement and curiosity, and kids poses beside it. 

Then he looked at his aunt, who stared at him confusingly. 

He sighed. "Fine, let's go." Just as he's about to stride out the door, he notices the driver is holding a large bag in his right hand. "What's that?"  
  
"Master Kang ordered me to hand these to you. He said, and I quote, 'If he doesn't walk out of the house wearing these clothes, use force.'"  
  
Seongwoo grabbed the strap of the bag and peered inside. He was already dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants, which were previously owned by his father. The contents of the bag had almost identical pieces of clothing inside. He scrambled his hands inside until he found a tag attached, which read: $3,900.   
  
He dropped the bag onto the floor and felt heat surge up to his head. "Forward this message to Daniel: I'm going to  _kill_ him."

 

* * *

  
  
  
As it turned out, Daniel wasn't kidding when he said he ordered his driver to use force. It was only after Seongwoo was drop kicked, locked in the bathroom until he changed into the new clothes, then bridal style carried to the limo and had all four limbs strapped onto the backseat that everything sunk in. Jihoon and Woojin, or as Seongwoo called them, the Park Devils, laughed their asses off and blew kisses to Seongwoo as he was driven away. 

On the ride to the mansion, the driver told him that he was a black belt in taekwondo and before working for the Kang Family, he was the top fighter for underground MMA competitions. Seongwoo wished he knew that before he tried to make a grand escape to the bus loop.  
  
His phone buzzed in his pocket so he wiggled around in his seat until his phone dropped out. He read the open text from Daniel:

  
**  
**

**LOOOOOOOL I can see you from the family security cameras. you look hilarious!!! now who's the dumbass??**

_fuck you_  
  
**watch the language ong!**

 _i don't need your clothes!!! mine are perfectly fine!!_ **  
**

**they're old, these are better**

**oh ya! don't worry about those clothes ~ I don't care if you get them dirty, they're from the clearance bin! ^_^**

 

Clearance bin?!  
  
Seongwoo was in the middle of spamming him with angry emojis when the limo made a sudden halt. The driver looked behind his shoulder. "We're here, Master Ong." 

"Two things. One, please just call me Seongwoo. Two, please unstrap me. I don't think I can handle anymore embarrassment."  
  
"As you wish."

 

* * *

 

  
  
Seongwoo expected the security to be rough because he was attending the house of a rich and powerful family, but he didn't think it would take him a whole twenty minutes to get passed his inspection. From getting scanned head to toe on a machine, his belongings checked and getting interviewed where they actually managed to get a hold of his personal background, he was a bit frightening to say the least.  
  
The interviewer in front of him appeared to be in his mid-forties. He wore thick sunglasses (they were indoors, so was it really necessary?) and his gray hair was slicked back with gel. His posture was straight and proper and although Seongwoo could not see his eyes, he knew he was glaring down at him. He assumed that the man was one of the head servants, but he still gave off an arrogant rich vibe.   
  
"Ong Seongwoo." the interviewer read from a clipboard. "You were referred by Kang Daniel, son of Kang Junho, which makes this off to a good start. Hmm..interesting, yes, okay... You're smart, no severe illnesses... Oh - you're a student at Seoul University? With your social standing? Wait, you must be a scholarship student. Ah yes, that makes sense with your grades and your volunteer experience. You seem like a standard and trustworthy guy. Let's see.." He continued to flip through sheets of paper. "Your family history... Oh, your father, however..."  
  
Seongwoo felt his entire body tense. They got that information about him too?  
  
The interviewer slammed the clipboard down on the table and smiled. "Well, you seem bright and since you're a student at Seoul University, I can let your background slide. You may take your bag from the hanger and proceed to the next room."  
  
Relief flushed up and down Seongwoo's body. If the interviewer had gone into more detail about his past, he wouldn't be in the right state for the rest of the training.  
  
He bowed politely at the interviewer and made his way out the door after grabbing his bag. He stood underneath the ambient lighting from crystal chandeliers. There were weird cat statues and pictures of a white cat, but no one else in the room seems to be staring at them, so he tries not to. There are about twenty other people in the room dressed in the same attire as him. Some are sitting next to the grand piano, some are leaned against the walls that have the most antique design to them, and some are talking amongst each other.  
  
The door opened and silenced the entire room.  
  
The man who was just interviewing them stepped out to the front of the room and cleared his throat. Almost immediately, everyone rushed towards him, forming lines of five. Seongwoo, unsure of what to do, casually slipped to the back of the crowd. Was this  _normal?_  
  
"If you stand in front of me, that means you have passed our briefing and have the honor of serving the Choi Family and their guests." The man announced loudly. "I am Dawon, the head butler of this residence. I will teach you proper etiquette and what is expected of you for the party tomorrow. Anyone who cannot keep up will be terminated immediately."  
  
The boy standing next to Seongwoo was already breaking a sweat.  
  
The next few hours went as followed: They received a strict tour of the mansion, meaning they only showed them places they were required to know. The kitchen, main dining halls, bathrooms and hallways that they were forbidden to go down. Seongwoo noted that every single hall walls were covered with pictures of a young man and his cat. He assumed the young man was the owner of the extravagant house.  
  
Then they were taught on how to approach and talk to the guests. Always bow when you approach and when the you or the guest leaves. Always be a step ahead and offer drinks to guests who look thirsty and food to guests who are surrounded by groups of people eating. If even a speck of dust if seen, it is expected to be cleaned up immediately.  
  
"The guests are all powerful figures who could destroy your lives with the snap of a finger so remember your place. Always apologize and remember your place."  
  
Afterwards, they practiced everything they were taught - how to walk, how to properly pour a glass of wine on a customer; how to talk politely and keeping your calm even when being talked down; quickening their speed at cleaning messes, setting tables, bringing food out to the main floor, getting used to bowing at every important figure, and so on.  
  
Seongwoo was doing a lot better than he expected. He was able to keep up with their quickening pace and did not mess up once. He thanked his years of experience working at his aunt's bed and breakfast for that. Every time one of the faux guests requested something, he was able to satisfy their needs immediately, all with a beautifully fake smile on his face.  
  
"Oh, I just love the sight of this!"  
  
Everyone stopped moving. Dawon, the head butler rushed to the front of the room and bowed politely at the person standing in front of them all. Seongwoo's memory rewinded to the pictures he saw hung along the walls. It was the owner of the house.  
  
He had dazzling blonde hair tied in a small ponytail. His skin was  _awfully_ clear and smooth (like seriously, what was his skincare routine?!), with rosy cheeks that added color to his soft skintone. He wore a floral tuxedo with matching pants and in his arms was the cat in his pictures. He had a pair of pink round sunglasses on, but as he walked down the staircase, he took it off.  
  
"Welcome home, Master Choi!" Dawon said, and in unison, everyone (but Seongwoo, awkwardly) bowed down and repeated his words and gesture.  
  
"You all smell so youthful! The smell of sweat just tells me how hard you young men and women are working and it is oh so beautiful! Ah yes, it's giving me chills right just now just staring at you all." He beamed, twirling himself left and right like a ballerina. "I'm even more excited for the party!"  
  
"You're home rather early today."  
  
"Yes! I left early today because I wanted to see all the beautiful people that are responsible for making tonight's party glamorous!" He scanned the crowd and shot his index finger at one of the quieter, shakier boys. "You! Fetch me a glass of the finest wine."  
  
"O-Okay!" The boy stumbled and fell down twice on his way to the kitchen.  
  
A clattering sound was heard from the kitchen and dramatically, the doors swung open and the boy came rushing through. A silver platter of food swung from his left palm, just barely holding its balance, and red wine in another glass.  
  
"I told you wine, not pastries."  
  
"I-I'm so sorry, I must have misheard-" The boy's body suddenly jerked and his feet were in the air. His eyes followed as he saw the food fly in slow motion, but more importantly, the wine.  
  
One moment, Seongwoo was standing in the back. He blinked and realized his arms were spread out and something dripped from his bangs. Slowly, he looked down and saw that his shirt was stained a bright red. Further down, the boy was in utter shock, trembling as he curled up in a ball on the floor.  
  
Seongwoo felt lasers shoot out from over his shoulder. The boy let out a pitched scream and scrambled out the back door. He turned to his right where a mirror was hung sideways on the wall, where he saw his reflection.  
  
"That. Was. Marvelous!" Master Choi squealed, frightening the cat he held. He lifted a finger and Dawon was quick to grab the cat out of his hands. The master clasped his hands tightly and let out a coo. "Your reflexes are incredible! Truly, you must be my knight in shining armor. You even got your clothes ruined for me!"  
  
"It's no big deal...Really." Seongwoo lied. The price of eight thousand dollars in total weighed against his chest. "I was just doing my job. You know, protecting the master of celebrants."  
  
"Oh, you are just _wonderful_." He batted his lashes. He turned to face the direction of where the boy ran off to. "Now, let me ask you. What should I do with that boy?"

"Huh?"

"Punish him, of course." The head butler said. The way he said it so casually was frightening. "We have all of his personal records. That, along with the master's social standing, it'll end him."  
  
Seongwoo's fingers curled into a tight fist. He couldn't believe his ears. Were the rich really so cruel that they'd ruin another person's life over something so trivial? He wouldn't let that happen. No matter what.  
  
"Why would you do that?" Seongwoo asked. He had a terrible habit of letting his emotions run wild and speaking before he thought things through. Common sense yelled in his head to shut up and not talk back to people who were a thousand times more powerful than he was, but he couldn't stop now. "He was terrified and obviously has really bad anxiety. If you really want to teach him a lesson then keep him, be patient and teach him to be more refined, or else how will he ever change? Firing and ruining his life won't fix anything and besides, it will say a lot more about _you_ than him."  
  
"Who are you to talk to Master like that?" The butler said angrily. "You are nothing but a commoner. The dirt on his feet. You are to leave immediately-"  
  
"Be quiet, would you?" His master snapped. He brushed his fingers through his hair and smirked as he took steps closer to Seongwoo. "You're quiet fierce, aren't you? I like that. What's your name?"  
  
"Ong. Ong Seongwoo."  
  
"Ong, huh? Well, that's a first." He turned to his butler. "Once you find that boy, bring him back immediately." He approached Seongwoo and took out a card. "My number is on here. If you ever need a job, I'll make sure you're hired."  
  
"Master-"  
  
"Did I say you count speak?" He raised his voice and threw his arms into the air. "Ignore him, he's just protective and awfully strict. I wish he could loosen up more. But Ong...I mean Seongwoo, if I may. You're a brave one. Alright! I'll allow you to call me by my first name, Minki. I'll be happy to see you at my party tomorrow. I have _quite_ the selection of guests. I may even have a special request for you." He turned his back and pranced to the front door. "I'm leaving now. Tell them to bring a car to the front."  
  
Seongwoo had no idea what he was getting himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things!
> 
> 1\. There is actually a university in SK called "Seoul National University" but for plot's sake this is my fictional take on it.  
> 2\. Minhyun will show up soon!!  
> 3\. There will be around 20 chapters for this fic. I hope to stick with that number as I continue to write this. I just don't want to go over 30. 
> 
> And fun fact: I'm an artist and this story was originally supposed to be a webtoon. But I missed writing so I decided to turn this into an Onghwang fic! Although, I'm thinking about drawing some scenes out and perhaps putting them in chapters :)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos, bookmarks, comments and just reading this story means a lot!!


	3. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo goes to a party.

Seongwoo woke up with tears in his eyes. 

He grazed a tear and stared at it sat on the tip of his index finger. He had that dream again. The dreams, which were more like memories he wished to forget, were beginning to occur almost every night. He looked across his bedside and gazed at his reflection in the mirror.  

He wrapped his arms around himself and curled his knees upward. He rested his forehead on his knees and placed his hand and tightened his grip on his shirt, just over where his heart was pounding intensely. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a soft sigh.

It was almost that time of the year again.

 

* * *

 

When Seongwoo arrived at Choi Minki's mansion an hour later, he was quickly swept in by the current of the atmosphere. There were servants running end to end, throwing velvet covers over every table and neatly placing cutlery symmetrical from each other, cleaning the floor until it was sparkling and preparing the entrance for the guests. The smell of freshly cooked meals escaped from the nearby kitchen, triggering Seongwoo's stomach to release a weak grumble. 

On the third step of the grand staircase, that had vibrant silver garlands twirled around the railings, stood Choi Minki. He was dressed in more casual attire, a grey sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, ripped jeans, a denim jacket tied around his waist and white fur slippers. His hair was down this time, bangs tucked behind his ear, and he had a pore strip on his nose. He yelled commands at every person in a sing-song voice and his voice railed off the walls. He was definitely one of a kind. As his eyes panned down the front of the room, the pair met with Seongwoo's and immediately lit up like a christmas tree. He leaped off the staircase in one grand jump and squealed happily.

"Lovely Ong, you've made your return!" Minki radiated. "I see you've gotten a new shirt, perfect, just perfect."

After his training yesterday night, Seongwoo went to Daniel's apartment (or apartments...he owned the entire floor) where their conversation went like so:

 

_"Hey, man. I'm sorry about ruining your shirt..."_

_"Why the gloomy face? I told you already, it was on clearance." Daniel proceeded to take his_ _phone out of his pocket and made a call. "Hey. Can you get another one of those shirts I bought the other day? Yeah. The cheapest one. Okay, thanks." He hung up. "They'll deliver it to your apartment tonight."_

 

"Oh -" Seongwoo said awkwardly. "Uh, yeah."

"Master Choi, your makeup artist is here." Dawon, the head butler, called from the top of the staircase.

"Well, it looks like it's time for me to get ready." He blew a kiss. "If you want to have some fun, I'll turn a blind eye just for you." He twisted his heel but just before he could walk off, he lifted his finger up into the air and twirled back around. "Oh! I forgot to mention something  _extremely_  important."

Seongwoo raised a brow in concern. "What is it?"

"Since I've taken a liking to you, I've decided to assign you to a specific guest." Minki said.  _How could he almost forget to mention this?_  "She's a close friend of mine. As for her background, her family is very powerful and well-known, so it's important for  _me_ to make a good impression. So if you could tend to _her_ and her _alone_ , that would be amazing. That isn't a request by the way."

Seongwoo didn't think it was. 

"I'll double your pay."

"I was going to do it whether or not you offered a price, but I'll take it for double." Seongwoo shot finger guns at Minki. "What's her name?"

"Lee Haesoo." Minki said it like Seongwoo was supposed to know who she was. "You are going to  _love_ her. Anyways, I'll see you in a few hours! " 

 

* * *

 

In the time that Seongwoo had to prepare for the evening, he took out his phone and googled Lee Haesoo since Minki gave him no indication on her appearance or personality.

He clicked on the most viewed article.

 

**_Get to know Lee Haesoo, millionaire supermodel!_ **

An image with a recent date underneath appeared first. She was walking down a bright runway and wore a Victorian styled dress with a sleek ribbon surrounding four sleeves of her skirt. Her hair was jet black and cascaded down over her shoulders, along with bangs that were parted in the middle. Her makeup was thick, but when Seongwoo scrolled down, a more natural picture of her in a school uniform with minimal makeup was shown. She was indeed beautiful.

He learned that she was the eldest daughter of the JK Group, a conglomerate or  _chaebol, w_ ith total assets worth 20 trillion won. They managed hospitals, hotels, shopping malls and real estate. When she was eleven, she went to school in the states for a couple of years before returning to South Korea and graduated with a Bachelor in Business Management. She is also a part-time model and is engaged to Hwang Minhyuk, the eldest son of Hanjin Group, one of the biggest chaebol's in Korea.

A picture of the couple was shown below. He looked considerably older than her. He was handsome, but his eyes were so cold it gave Seongwoo chills through a mere photograph.

 

Comments

_[+943, -8] Haesoo and Minhyuk are the perfect couple.....just look at them_

_[+722, -2] She's really pretty, but Minhyuk is even more handsome. If you ask me, she's lucky to have him!_

_[+10, -249] she's so fake! you can see plastic surgery all over her. stupid bitch, minhyuk deserves better_

 

* * *

 

The clock struck eight. Seongwoo gazed out the window and saw that the entrance was already crowded with guests making their way through the front door. Dollar signs hovered above the cars that Seongwoo scanned in the parking lot. He recognized a couple of his classmates, but instead of their typical uniform, they were dressed in showy dresses and tuxedos.

Seongwoo inched closer to the entrance and scanned every guest that entered. He hoped that he didn't miss Haesoo or she didn't get plastic surgery and become completely unrecognizable from his google search memory. In one sudden movement, a crowd of people began to form around a limo that had just parked in the driveway. The driver exited first and opened the door. The first pair to come out of the car were a couple, probably no older than 60, the man dressed in a suit and the woman in a long, black dress that draped to her feet. 

He recognized the man as the CEO of the JK Group, Lee Seongho, and his wife, Ji Yoojung. 

As expected, the next pair to come out were none other than Lee Haesoo and Hwang Minhyuk. He was taller in person and even colder looking. As for Lee Haesoo, as she neared the entrance, Seongwoo knew immediately that no camera was able to capture every inch of her beauty. She wore a tight red dress and had makeup that complimented the fierce color. Even the beauty mole underneath her chin made her more stunning. 

Seongwoo broke himself out of his daze and approached Haesoo.

"Hello, Miss Lee." He bowed politely. "My name is Ong Seongwoo and I was personally requested by the master of celebration, Choi Minki, to be your personal servant for the night."

"Oh, that damned Minki, always thinking I need a babysitter..." She gritted her teeth, but soon forced a laugh and smiled at him. "I mean, how  _nice_. Nice to meet you."

"If you need anything, please let me know, and I'll make sure to cater to your needs, Miss Lee."

"Aren't you a polite one?" 

Minhyuk scoffed. Seongwoo looked up at him and felt his dark gaze burn against his skin. His stare could turn medusa into stone.  "You don't have to be so nice to him. It makes you look weak." He brushed past Seongwoo, their shoulders bumping. He stopped and brought out his hand. Haesoo's face darkened, but she still allowed their fingers to entwine. She clung tightly to him and they walked up to her parents.

"We're going ahead, so have fun you two." Ji Yoojung winked. "Remember to be responsible and smile. Always remember who you're surrounded by. You want to make a good impression tonight."

"Oh, that is no problem." In an instant, Minhyuk had a bright smile plastered across his face. His laugh railed across the walls and made his entire being radiate like the sun. It was so fake it made Seongwoo want to throw up. He wrapped his arm around Haesoo, as she cracked a smile, and kissed her forehead. "As you can see, we're as in love as can be, and that's all everyone else will see. Isn't that right, dear?"

"O-Of course!" Haesoo smiled forcefully. 

"You enjoy the night as well." Minhyuk waved. 

Once Haesoo's parents turned their backs on them, Minhyuk yanked his hand off and stepped aside.

" _You._ " His eyes pointed at Seongwoo. "Don't just stand there, you mutt. Give me a handkerchief. My hands are already damp, god. Must you sweat so much?"

"That's because _you_ were holding my hand too tightly." Haesoo hissed, crossing her arms. She sniffed a bit of her hair and gagged. "Yuck, I already reek of your cologne. Would it kill you to put less? I could probably smell it from across the street."

Seongwoo took out a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and handed it to Minhyuk.

 "Haesoo, you better behave yourself tonight." Minhyuk warned. "I'm glad Minki was smart and got you a personal servant."

"I don't _need_ a servant to watch me because I'm not a damn child."

"Is that so?" He tossed the handkerchief to the floor and kicked it to Haesoo's heels. "Then pick that up, would you? If you don't need a servant than you should be able to do at least that."

Seongwoo could feel anger surging his veins, as his fingers curled into fists. He gritted his teeth and felt a sudden urge to smash this asshole to the ground.  He turned to Haesoo and returned to his senses at the sight of her saddened face. He bit his tongue and held himself back. He bent down and picked up the handkerchief. Haesoo looked at him apologetically but he just smiled at her. 

Minhyuk scoffed. "Pathetic. I'm going on my own now. I'll text you when it's necessary for us to be together." He walked off on his own, leaving Seongwoo alone with Haesoo.

She clenched her hands and stared down at the floor. Seongwoo thought about the article he read earlier. Perfect couple...? Lucky to have him...? They all couldn't be more wrong. 

He wanted to ask if she was okay, but it was a stupid question. No one would be okay if they constantly had to deal with an asshole like that.

Haesoo looked up from the ground. "The way you look at me...I know."

For a moment, Seongwoo forgot about social standings. He bent down to meet her at eye's length and gave her a kind smile. 

"Hey, who cares about that dickhead?" Seongwoo said. "Aren't you supposed to come to parties to have fun? As if you don't need him to have a good time." Haesoo's eyes widened. "Sorry, I crossed a line just now didn't I?" He laughed awkwardly, realizing the extent of his words. "I'm a servant and you have enough money to get rid of me without a trace."

Haesoo erupted in a fit of laughter. "Yes, but you're right.  Tonight, even if it is fake happiness or temporary bliss, let's have fun and forget our sorrows."

She grabbed Seongwoo's hand and yanked him into the next room.

 

* * *

 

For the next few hours, Haesoo treated Seongwoo more as a friend than a servant. She insisted he sit down with her and eat as much food from the buffet as his stomach could muster. Seongwoo couldn't deny an offer like that. In a split second, he was sprinting to the buffet line and grabbed everything until his plate was as tall as a skyscraper. He ate food with flavor unlike anything he tasted before. Rich people food was amazing! He was tempted to go into the kitchen and ask the chef's for the recipe for his aunt's restaurant.

Then, she took him to the floor to dance with her. Seongwoo was surprisingly really good on his feet and moved naturally to the music, he didn't even need Haesoo's help after a couple of songs. Perhaps he was an idol in his past life.

Afterwards, they ate again (Seongwoo had to take advantage of the night no matter what) and watched as Haesoo interacted with the other guests. She was sociable, bright and attracted everyone the moment she walked into the room. He couldn't help but wonder how Minhyuk could treat her so terribly.

At one point in the night, Haesoo insisted that Seongwoo take a couple shots to loosen him up - he took two shots and ended it there because the angel on his left shoulder reminded him that he had a lecture the following day and he was a lightweight.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was having fun. He hoped Haesoo was enjoying herself as well. She smiled a lot and laughed at all of his jokes, but Seongwoo couldn't help but notice something throughout the night. Even when she was talking to him, or any person that approached her, it was as if she wasn't really there. And with every silence, her eyes would wander around the room, as if she was searching for someone.

It was such a mere suspicion, though. Perhaps Seongwoo was overthinking things. 

"Hey, this strawberry cake is amazing." Seongwoo beamed. "Want me to grab you a slice?"

"Sure." Haesoo continued to stare off into space.

"Great, I'll be right back." He got up from his seat and darted to the dessert table. As if he was on a scavenger hunt, he locked his gaze on the last piece of strawberry cake. Just as he was about to grab the plate, another hand gripped onto the other side of the plate. He tugged the plate but the other hand wouldn't let go.

"I'm sorry, but this cake is mine." 

Seongwoo looked up angrily and for a split second, he thought he had just gotten into an argument with Hwang Minhyuk. But even with a similar cold stare, brooding looks, and similar faces that were probably sculpted by the gods themselves... he was noticeably younger - Seongwoo's age, maybe? - and a bit taller than him _._ But more importantly - his head was gigantic. Like, not unusually large that someone would be medically concerned about it, but from the angle Seongwoo was looking at, it was  _big._

Midst in thought, the bighead yanked the plate away from Seongwoo.

"Hey!" Seongwoo reacted by quickly latching onto the plate. "I saw it first, therefore it's mine."

"I felt it's presence the moment I walked into this building, therefore it's mine."

"What the hell? That doesn't even make any sense!"

"Doesn't matter, you're a servant, aren't you? Therefore you're obligated to give it to  _me,_ the guest."

Seongwoo had grown tired of arrogant, entitled men tonight. He took a daring step forward, right hand still gripped onto the other side of the plate, and with his free hand, poked his chest. "First of all, I'm a personal servant. Therefore I'll only answer to my master. I don't owe you shit!" With the last word, he stomped on his foot and while he reacted to the pain, he managed to grab the plate out of his hands.

"You little shithead-" He snarled, raising his arms ready to attack. 

Seongwoo prepared his battle stance, inspired by action movies he watched growing up. But their tension was quickly broken by murmurs that chorused across the entire room.

_"That's him, isn't he?"_

_"I didn't think he was going to show up. He wasn't in the car with the others..."_

_"He's handsome as they say, but even scarier in person... Look at that poor servant..."_

_"So it's true then? He's a..."_

_"Don't say it out loud!"_

Seongwoo was caught off guard by those words, but frankly, he couldn't care less who he was talking to. He returned his gaze to the person in front of him, but realized he had already lost himself and had fallen victim to the whispers around him. 

Seongwoo snapped his fingers. "Oi, I'm over here. You look pale - what? Are you surrendering this cake to me?" He didn't respond. Growing more irritated, Seongwoo threw his arm back and flung the cake at the boy.

At the last second, the boy snapped out of his daze and dodged the cake, the frosting grazing his cheek. They both stare in awe at the cake that now sat on the floor in shambles.

"Crap, that was a bad idea." Seongwoo muttered.

"You little... You actually threw that cake at me?" He gritted his teeth. 

Everyone in the room was staring at them, or the man, more so. Oh god. What if he was the son of the Prime Minister? He broke out in a nervous sweat and opened his mouth, hoping some witty response would slip out his tongue, but he was cut off by a third figure.

Haesoo. She stood in front of both of them, her face pale and jaw dropped to the floor, eyes locked on the boy in front of them. 

_"Minhyun?"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minhyun showed up fashionably late to the party. 
> 
> I'd love to update at least twice a week but I work full time ;_; Thank you for reading!


	4. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo gets a glimpse of Minhyun's world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read till the end for a lil surprise.

The difference in atmosphere was large and Seongwoo was suffocating in it.

From the looks Haesoo and resident bighead, now known as  _Minhyun,_ were giving each other, there appeared to be some complicated backstory and frankly, Seongwoo was afraid of learning of the fine details. Daniel occasionally ranted to him about his political family issues whenever they hung out, so he knew better than to get involved in rich people affairs.

Haesoo took a step closer to Minhyun but at the same time, he took a cautious step away from her.

"I didn't think you were going to show up." Haesoo said.

"I wasn't planning to. But I owed Minki quite a few favors, and he told me he'd give me a blank slate if I showed up." Minhyun narrowed his eyes. "Or did you give him that idea?"

"I'm sorry." Haesoo said quietly.

Minhyun avoided looking at her in the eye.

"Look..." He grumbled, scratching the back of his head. "If we're going to have this talk, could we do it in a more private area? I don't think I can stand all these people looking at me any longer."

Seongwoo scanned the room and his ears gave into the murmurs surrounding him. Haesoo nodded and the two made their way out another exit. Seongwoo awkwardly tagged along (grabbing another plate of food quickly before he lost them) as they made their way to one of the empty rooms in a different floor. Seongwoo wished they went to a different room - the only thing in it was a life sized statue of Minki's cat.

How many cat statues did he _have?_

Once Seongwoo closed the door behind them, they continued their conversation.

"So...how are you?" She asked awkwardly.

"Please cut out the small talk. I thought I told you to stop meddling with my life." Minhyun glared in distaste. 

Oh _god_.

Seongwoo was literally third wheeling in an episode of an intense soap opera. What the hell was going on?

Regret - _yes_ , that was the word that described how Seongwoo felt completely in the current situation. He could have been at home, studying for his next class, or taking a well-deserved nap, or doing  _anything_ but this. He had no idea that the night would unravel itself like so, but Seongwoo should have known that a normal evening does not exist when involved with the upper class. At least it would save for a great story to tell Daniel next time they met up. 

Seongwoo opened his mouth but Haesoo spoke first.

"It's just..."Haesoo pressed her hand over her chest. "We-  _I_ thought that if you attended parties again, you'd have fun. I haven't seen you smile or enjoy yourself in so long. I know it was a silly attempt but I had to try something. I'm...I'm just worried about you."

"I don't need you to worry about me." 

"But-"

"A couple of drinks, overbearing music and being treated as an outsider isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. And it isn't going to change me or the past. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop already."

Man, this guy was the  _epitome_ of angst. Seongwoo guessed Minhyun had an emo phase at some point in his life.

"Besides, if my brother finds out I'm here, he'll definitely tell that witch." Minhyun crossed his arms and turned away from her. His eyes met with Seongwoo, causing the latter to shift into a defense stance. "Also, why is he here? Who the hell is he anyways? He had the audacity to stomp on my feet, talk back to me and throw food with the intention of it _hitting_ me."

"Who the hell throws food without intending it to hit their target, first of all-"

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't know because I'm not a barbarian and I don't throw food at people! Wait, that would be an insults to barbarians, you lack everything!"

"Take that back, you bighead-"

"My head isn't even that big!"

"Enough, you two!" Haesoo yelled loudly to silence Seongwoo and Minhyun. She sighed. "Minki hired him personally for me. He's-"

"My name is _Ong Seongwoo_!" He belted loudly into the empty room, startling Minhyun and Haesoo with his volume. He stomped towards Minhyun. "I'm no one special. Just a middle class college student just trying to make some extra cash this evening. I've been hired to take care of Haesoo tonight, so if you have anything to say to her, it'll have to get through  _me_ first."

"Is that so?" Minhyun cocked his head to the side. "Ong Seongwoo, was it? Do you know who I am?"

Seongwoo looked over Minhyun's shoulder and gave Haesoo a ' _who exactly is he????_ ' look. Haesoo cleared her throat and spoke as if she was reading from a textbook.

"Hwang Minhyun. He's the younger brother of Minhyuk, whom you've met." Haesoo leaped next to Minhyun and locked their arms. "But more importantly, Minhyun is my  _fiancé!_ "

Seongwoo choked on his spit, and Minhyun looked rather annoyed. He shook Haesoo off of him.

"I've had enough of your childish games, Haesoo. Ignore her. She just likes to play  _house,_ whereas I'm the husband and she's the wife. But she really is engaged to Minhyuk, my brother."

Seongwoo took a closer look at Minhyun. He noticed the similarity in their physical appearances - but they gave off extremely different vibes. Their eyes were ice cold but seemed to tell different stories. Seongwoo could not help but wonder what their daily lives were like. And the more he thought about it, the more confused he was. Earlier in the day, when he read articles on the JK Group and the Hanjin Group, not even  _one_ sentence involved Minhyun. He wondered why Minhyun didn’t get out of the same car as them either. 

Why did everyone stare at Minhyun like he was an outsider? 

And if everyone in the world was in love with Minhyuk, why wasn't Minhyun treated with the same level of adoration? 

"I mean, you guys do look related... But I still don't really get you." Seongwoo frowned. "Look,  _Minhyun._ " He crossed his arms. "Now that I've gotten a better taste of your personality, I must say... I don't care that you're the son of some huge, powerful family. Whether you're the world leader or the waiter serving me at a restaurant, you're a human first, and a shitty one at that. So there's that."

"Bold, isn't he?" Haesoo said. "I didn't think commoners came that daring.

Minhyun's left eye twitched. "Did he talk like this to my brother too?"

"I wish I did." Seongwoo pouted. "He was an asshole. Now I'd love to throw a piece of cake at  _him._ " 

Minhyun glared angrily. He guessed it was too soon to joke about the cake incident.

But now that we've talked Minhyun, why don't we go back to the main floor?" Haesoo suggested. "I'm sure Minki and the others would be more than happy to spend some time with you. "

"No. Attending this party was a waste of time." Minhyun shook his head. "Honestly, I shouldn't have even come here."

"But if it was a waste a time then why did you even bother to show up?" Haesoo asked. Her hands were trembling. "Was it...because you thought there was something here for you?"

Seongwoo felt his breath hitch. In Minhyun's gaze, there was a slight flicker of something  _real_ and vulnerable. It almost made his heart stop. But like a dying candle, it faded in an instant and Minhyun returned to the same, cold, stoic exterior. 

"Don't be silly, Haesoo. There is nothing here for a person like me."

Minhyun smiled, but it only made Seongwoo's chest hurt. There was something very, very wrong about that boy. The only smile he saw that was equally as sad was his own.

Haesoo opened her mouth to speak, but something buzzed in her purse at the last second. Reluctantly, she took out her phone and frowned at the text. "It's Minhyuk. He's asking for me." She looked up sadly. "Minhyun..."

"Save it." Minhyun said. "You don't want to keep him waiting. Besides, if he comes here and sees us together, he'll throw a fit. You know how he feels about me. I was just about to leave anyways."

Haesoo's bottom lip quivered and she forcefully nodded. "I'll visit soon, okay?"

Minhyun sighed and shoved his hands into your pocket. "Goodbye, Haesoo."

Haesoo walked out into the hallway.

Seongwoo quickly followed behind her. He looked past his shoulder and looked at Minhyun. He was one person in a room filled with people, yet Seongwoo still felt that Minhyun was still alone. He wondered how one person could give off such an eerie aura. 

"What a weird guy." Seongwoo muttered under his breath. He realized Haesoo was growing further away from him, so he picked up the pace until he stood by her side.

"What was his deal, anyways? He asked. "Also, why was he so against you helping him, for whatever reason that may be? He's more against socializing than I am."

"He's been through a lot, please understand that despite what he says, he has a good heart." Haesoo said in defense. "He's locked himself in that house of his, and rejects every form of help that comes his way."

 She tugged at his sleeve and stopped in the middle of the hallway. A tear dropped to the floor and her grip tightened on his arm. "Tell me, Seongwoo. How am I supposed to help someone who doesn't want to be saved?"

Haesoo looked at him with desperation, tears streaming and makeup staining her skin. Seongwoo felt his heart snap in two and for a brief moment, he reverted back into the boy he forcefully locked away. An old version of himself who was vulnerable, weak and needed to be saved. 

After spending countless nights crying and pleading for salvation, Seongwoo came to the brutal realization that he was never going to be saved. It was then that he locked up the fragments of the person he used to be, picked up a new canvas and created the person he was today. 

He thought about the way Minhyun looked so lonely and fragile as Haesoo and Seongwoo left the room. The expression he made was not of someone who didn't want to be saved. It was the opposite. It was as if he was crawling from the depths, begging for salvation. A feeling Seongwoo knew very well. 

Seongwoo's hands were clenched into a fist. He exhaled and released his fingers from his tight grip. He threw his arm over Haesoo's shoulder and pulled her into a tight hug. He lifted one hand and patted her on the forehead and breathed, "Sorry. I know this is a bit forward. But it's all I can do. I can't tell you it'll be okay, or that things will get better - loose promises like that won't do anyone good. But... If I figure it out, I'll let you know."

They spent a moment in each other's arms until Haesoo stopped crying. They went to the nearest restroom where Haesoo redid her makeup. 

 Seongwoo leaned against the restroom door, making sure it remained locked so no one would see Haesoo in this state, as requested. He stared at her reflection in the mirror. "How are you feeling?" 

"I'm fine now." Haesoo said. Seongwoo figured it was another lie. She put down her eyeliner and stared at her reflection in the faucet. "Hey... Tell me. What did you think of him?"

"Hm?"

"Minhyun, I mean."

"Even from that short conversation, I can tell there's a lot more to him than meets the eye." He answered honestly. "He's weird, and interesting, but in a good way. I don't know what baggage he's carrying on those shoulders, but I know it must be straining, so I hope he gets through whatever is trying to weigh him down." 

Haesoo sighed in relief. "Yeah, me too." 

Ong Seongwoo's first impression of the mysterious boy was - Hwang Minhyun was beautifully damaged.

And that terrified Seongwoo.

 

* * *

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter was shorter than expected! But I hope my onghwang art makes up for it at least a bit :)


	5. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo saves the day. Twice.

Seongwoo and Haesoo returned to the main dining hall after she finished fixing her makeup. He was amazed really, he could barely tell that she had been crying. Haesoo approached a group of men and asked for Minhyuk.

"Minhyuk? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him in awhile." 

"What?" Haesoo turned pale.

"Yeah, he was kind of off to be honest."

"Crap." Haesoo clenched her fists and twisted her heel. She stormed off towards the door and Seongwoo quickly followed from behind. She brought her phone to her ear and hissed, "Pick up, damn it."

"Haesoo, what's going on?" Seongwoo asked in confusion. "Why are you so worried?"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Haesoo said. She dialed Minhyuk's number a second time and after the third ring, her eyes widened. "Where are you? Tell me your surroundings. Talk slower. Okay. Uh huh. Got it. I'm on my way."

At the corner of the hallway, she made a grand turn and dashed to the staircase. Seongwoo stared in awe as she flawlessly made her way up in high heels. His feet ached at the thought. He shook his head to bring himself back to Earth and continued to follow her. 

"Are we allowed to be on this floor?" Seongwoo couldn't help but ask. When the head butler gave the servants a tour of the mansion yesterday, they never made it over the second floor. They were on the fourth.

"I've known Minki since I was a child, and besides, I can do whatever I want."

"Well, when you say it like  _that._ "

Haesoo threw off a heel and dramatically kicked open doors left to right...while Seongwoo casually opened doors with his  _hand_ like a normal person. Was this a rich people thing?

He reached the door at the end of the hallway and when he opened it, it was encased in darkness. He was about to close the door when he heard a loud whine. 

He turned around and reached for the light switch. When light lifted the room, Seongwoo saw Minhyuk leaning against the wall, crouched on the floor. His hair stuck to his red, sweaty face and his breaths came out hoarse and weak. Beside him, laid a cracked  syringe surrounded by white powdery crumbs. 

Holy shit.

"Haesoo, he's in here!" Seongwoo yelled. 

Haesoo stormed past Seongwoo and darted to the floor. She pressed her palm against Minhyuk's forehead and swore under her breath. "You idiot."

"Water. Need. Water." He grabbed her wrist.

Haesoo reached into her purse and took out a small water bottle. Minhyuk thrashed it out of her hands and drank it intensely, his hands shaking. Water spilled from the corners of his lips and dripped onto his clothes.

"How could you be so dumb to do this at such a formal function where my parents and other powerful families are here and not to mention, dozens of reporters outside?!" Haesoo grabbed him by the collar. Seongwoo threw himself forward and lunged his arm in front of Minhyuk.

"He's inconsolable, Haesoo. What's done is done. We need to get him out of here."

"You brought...Him here?" Minhyuk breathed. He weakly curled his fingers into a fist and punched the ground. "You're the idiot, Haesoo."

"Oh, so you can respond? Well, then don't talk to her like that you prick." Seongwoo snapped. 

Crap, did he just say that out loud? 

"Who...Who do you think you are?" He hissed. "You...You have  _no_ idea. No idea. The things I can do.. to you!"

"I'm sorry, but you aren't in a position to make threats right now." Seongwoo stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees. "As you can see, you're clearly in no state to walk out of here without ruining your image and family business."

"Everything has gone to literal shit!" Haesoo panicked on the side. She pulled her hair apart and paced back and forth. "What are we going to do? This could ruin not only his family, but he'll drag mine down with him! All because of this stupid..."

"Haesoo. Shut up." Minhyuk glared angrily. 

Haesoo turned pale and faced the other direction. 

Seongwoo came to the realization of the reality of his evening. What started off as a seemingly normal opportunity for Seongwoo to earn money magically turned into an absolute, worst case scenario nightmare. He stood in between a panicking rich model and her fiance, a fucking drug addict. He needed to find a way out of this situation, and fast. He didn't care much about the politics, but he felt bad for Haesoo...and he didn't want to get dragged into it more than he already was. 

An idea sprung into his head.

Seongwoo pointed at Minhyuk. "Take your clothes off."

"I beg your pardon?" Minhyuk choked.

"You aren't that much taller than me, and if I sweep my hair a bit, put on your clothes, I could pass as you."

"That is _so_ offensive."

"First of all, screw you. Secondly, as long as I keep my head down and avoid eye contact with anyone, it'll work." Seongwoo said, but Minhyuk and Haesoo continued to give him looks of disbelief. 

"There is a back door through the kitchen where only servants can go into so if Minhyuk goes through there then Haesoo and I can go through the front entrance, pull up a car, and quickly pick him up before anyone else sees him. Haesoo can tell Minki to escort Minhyuk to the car, no questions asked, so no one will bother him too."

"That idea is ludicrous, if you think I'll resort to s-such a-" 

"It's ridiculous, but we don't have a choice." Seongwoo interrupted.

Haesoo stepped forward and nodded in agreement. "He's right. I can't think of a better idea, can you?"

Minhyuk clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. "How do I know...that... _you_  won't use this situation against us?"

"It's my word against yours, and the odds won't favor a random servant. It's not like I have a phone or any proof. You can clean up the evidence right now if you'd like." Seongwoo shrugged. "Besides, I have nothing to gain from this anyways. I'm really not that kind of man."

"Then it's settled." Haesoo clapped her hands together. "Help me lift him up."

 

* * *

 

It was midnight. Seongwoo stood at the bus stop, waiting for the last bus to arrive that would bring him to the comforts of a soft, warm bed. He recalled the events of the past two hours and shuddered at the thought.

The plan was executed perfectly. Minki, unaware of the true situation, was still eager to help Haesoo. He was also drunk, so Seongwoo wasn't sure if that helped. But they were able to call for a driver within minutes and the three of them soon arrived at the Hwang's family doctor. 

Seongwoo decided to go home once he received an update that Minhyuk was going to be okay. He didn't tell Haesoo because she knew he would offer him a ride home, but he didn't want to owe her. It wasn't that he wanted leverage over the situation at hand.

He just didn't want anything to do with these people anymore. 

He was afraid that he meddled too much in their affairs and it would come back to bite him in the ass. Seongwoo was a simple guy with simple dreams and simple plans. That was all.

The bus arrived minutes later.

 

* * *

 

 There was a boy riding a bicycle in the middle of a storm. His hands were gripped tightly against the handlebar, as his bike swayed left to right against the wind and flew ever so slightly at rocks buried on the muddy ground. At the end of his path stood a figure, and there was only one thought in his mind: He had to reach that person.

His wheels slammed against a larger rock and before he could register it completely, he was in the air. His entire body slammed against his ground and blood seeped from his nose. He looked up from the ground, feeling his limp body ache with each slight movement and stretched forward. 

He must reach that person.

_"Dad!"_

 

Seongwoo woke up with tears in his eyes, and his arm stretched up to the ceiling. His body trembled underneath his blanket and he was out of breath. He wiped his tears away with his sleeve and sat up, curling himself into a ball.

He scratched the back as his head as he stared at his bed-head, puffy eyed, blotched skin self in the mirror. Sitting underneath his bed was the bag of clothes that Daniel gave him for the party. 

It was a month ago. He managed to shake the thought of that evening for a couple of weeks, but since his dreams reminded him of how soon the anniversary of his father's death is, he was feeling a bit vulnerable. 

He was reminded of Hwang Minhyuk's cruelty and addiction, Lee Haesoo's smile that hid an angry, fierce girl, Choi Minki's eccentric and flamboyant behavior, and the ever so lonely Hwang Minhyun. 

The day after the party, he went to Daniel's place where Daniel apologized for not attending the party because he had business duties to take care off. Seongwoo told him all about the party - minus the Minhyuk situation.

Daniel laughed loudly. "It took me awhile to get used to Minki too, and I've known him since we were kids. But seriously, dude, I didn't expect you to have such a crazy night and meet the  _prince_ and  _princess_. Oh, not to mention the ice prince!"

"I'm not familiar with your terminology, so please expand." Seongwoo grumbled. "I can assume the prince and princess are Minhyuk and Haesoo, but who the hell is the 'ice prince'?"

"Oh, you know - Minhyun! So, what was he like?"

"Oh. Uh...Cold. Weird." He smirked. "I stepped on his foot and threw cake at him."

"No way! You did what?!" Daniel erupted in a fit of laughter again. "You're amazing, Ong. I swear, if it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have made it out alive."

"Is he really  _that_ bad?"

Daniel never gave Seongwoo a clear answer. Daniel just told him he'd have to find out for himself in which Seongwoo responded with, "It's not like I'm ever going to see him again."

A loud thud thundered from downstairs, which startled Seongwoo, followed by a piercing scream. Seongwoo jumped from his spot and felt his heartbeat quicken.

"Help! Woojin, call 119! Get Seongwoo!" Jihoon's voice came shrieking from downstairs.

Without a moment to spare, Seongwoo threw his blanket off of him and sprinted downstairs. When he reached the main floor, he felt blood rush to his face at the sight of his aunt collapsed on the floor. He pressed his hand against his lips and held back the urge to throw up. He saw stars. He felt like dying. His knees grew weak and before he could register what was going on, he was on the floor with tears in his eyes.

Not again. He couldn't lose another person important to him.

"Seongwoo, pull yourself together!" Woojin tugged at his sleeve and pinched his cheek. "The ambulance is on their way. She's going to be alright, okay? Now help me lift her off the floor."

"Huh? Oh, right, right!" He wobbled as he stood up on both legs and ran over to his aunt.

 He stared at her as life slowly sucked away from her skin and was reminded of how weak he truly was.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo's aunt had a heart attack. Her body was always more frail than others and her blood cholesterol was rather high. Even though the symptoms were out there, Seongwoo had convinced himself that no one else he cared about would get hurt as long as he kept those thoughts far from him. He was wrong, and now his aunt was suffering.

Coronary Artery disease and left side heart failure - was what the doctor diagnosed.

A list of possible procedures and medications to be taken was given as a possible route to correcting the heart failure. The one that caught Seongwoo's eye was Coronary artery bypass surgery. It requires open-heart surgery, which made him sickened with fear to think about. But the surgeon would reroute the blocked arteries by using a vessel from another part of the body, allowing the blood to flow around the blocked or narrowed paths. 

The only issue was that the surgery was extremely expensive. His aunt tried to reassure Seongwoo that simple treatment and medication would suffice, but Seongwoo would not have it.

Woojin and Jihoon already talked to him about getting part time jobs elsewhere to help pay for it. Seongwoo was also planning to use up every coin he earned from his night at Minki's party. But it still wasn't enough.

They closed the restaurant temporarily, at least until she was out of the hospital. But Seongwoo wasn't certain if the restaurant could afford to open again with the expenses they were to pay for her hospital visits, treatments and medication. 

Currently, Seongwoo sat on a chair across from his aunt, as she lied down on the hospital bed. Behind the curtains peeked a blazing sun, reminding him of the days she was losing.

"What if...I dropped out of school?" Seongwoo asked suddenly, staring at the ends of his shoes. His hands were shaking. "I-I could get a job. Help bring the restaurant back and help pay for your medical bills. Yeah...that should work-"

"Don't mess with me!" His aunt screamed.

Seongwoo jumped from his seat and looked at his aunt. There were tears streaming down her face and her whole body trembled. She was so weak, and yet, she managed to let out such a violent scream.

"Don't you _dare_ drop out of school," She hissed angrily, fingers gripping tightly on the fabric of her blanket. "It was your father's dream for you to go to college and get a proper job. Don't you dare make a mockery of his dream and drop out. I won't have it."

She covered her face as she wept and the harshness of her words quickly sunk in. He stood up from his seat and hugged her gently.

"I'm so sorry."

 

* * *

 

 

Seongwoo kept a part of his aunt's promise of staying in school, but he couldn't just stand around and wait for her die. He had to get a job.

The day after she was admitted into the hospital, Seongwoo rushed home and submitted his resume to a couple of stores online. He attended two job interviews, but neither employer was willing to give him a paycheck in advance. He knew a minimum wage pay was barely a scrape on the cost of the surgery, but at this point, he was desperate.

The pressure was quickly getting to Seongwoo. He hoped it would at least be a distraction from his father's death anniversary. It was not.

The inevitable day arrived sooner than Seongwoo expected. 

Seongwoo could hear the rain hitting his window; the weather was the same every year. He wasn't sure if he believed in God, spirits or the afterlife, but he felt that the yearly rain was a sign that his father was crying. 

He stared at himself in the mirror as he buttoned his shirt. Once he finished combing his hair, he went over to his closet and dug his hands in one of the boxes until he felt something small in his fingertips. He took his hand out and stared at the whistle that rested in his palm.

It was the only thing he had left of his father.

 _"Even if I am a thousand miles away, blow_ _this whistle, and I'll hear you. I'll be there."_

He chuckled. "What a lie."

He put the whistle in his jacket pocket and left. As the pellets of rain fell onto his clear umbrella, Seongwoo looked up at the cloudy, unsettling sky and wondered what his father was thinking about. He was foolish to cling onto his father in the weirdest ways.

Lost in thought, his shoulder accidentally slammed against another and his umbrella went flying. His eyes followed as it was carried by the wind and landed in a puddle. He leaned over to pick it up when a sudden shove made him lose his balance and he crashed onto the ground. When the pain of his skin hitting the sidewalk pierced his hands, he only sucked in his breath.

"Who do you think you are?" The man yelled. "I expect an apology."

Seongwoo stared at his pathetic reflection in the puddle. For some reason, he had no urge to fight back. 

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"Eh?" Another loud kick was felt against Seongwoo's back and his entire body crashed onto the ground. "How pathetic. Aren't you going to fight back?"

"Like I deserve that." Seongwoo muttered. His eyes were lifeless, body weak and his heart heavy. His entire outfit was soaked and dirty and he was sure he looked as terrible as he felt. He finally looked up from the ground, but before he could face the stranger in the eye, his gaze met with something shining in the rain.

His whistle.

It must have fallen when Seongwoo fell down. His chest tightened. He crawled over when the stranger pushed him back down.

"What the hell are you doing now? Eh.... That? Oh, that must be yours isn't it?"

A foot raised in the air and then....

_Slice._

Seongwoo felt like he had been sliced in half. 

Maybe he was stupid for holding onto something like childish as a whistle. He should have thrown it away years ago. Should have let it go. But as he stared at the remnants, tears began to well in his eyes. 

"Eh? That's it? You're no fun. I'm leaving."

Seongwoo couldn't even bring himself to stare at the person who did this to him. When the footsteps faded into nothing, he was finally able to move. He picked up each individual broken piece and held it tightly in his hand.

First his left leg. Then his right. 

He was on both feet. He picked up his umbrella and continued his way to the graveyard.

By the time he arrived at the cemetery, he couldn't differentiate rain from tears. His face was soaked and he felt completely and utterly broken. It wasn't as if this event had destroyed him.

Simply, Seongwoo was never fine to begin with.

This mere event was just a reminder of that cruel fact. 

It was saddening that he remembered the path to his father's grave so well that he could walk there with his eyes closed. He stared at the ground as he made his way over, so it was almost the same.

He heard a sniffle that didn't come out of his own nose. He looked up and saw a figure standing in front of his father's grave. No, next to it. A grave with the name ' _ **KWON HYE RI** "_

The figure turned around and like Seongwoo, the man was drenched in a mixture of rain and tears. 

Out of all the events that led up to this day, Seongwoo did not expect to see Hwang Minhyun standing in front of him.

He did not have an umbrella. His clothes were soaked inside out, cheeks flushed and eyes swollen. 

Minhyun weakly raised his arm, as if he was reaching out for Seongwoo, but before his fingers could stretch out, he collapsed onto the ground.

For the first time since his aunt was hospitalized, Seongwoo fell out his daze. He rushed over to Minhyun's side and lifted his shoulders. He shook him gently and pressed his hand against his forehead.

"You're burning up," Seongwoo said. "How long have you been standing out here in the rain? I need to call 119."

He reached into his pocket to get his phone out when Minhyun suddenly latched into his wrist. His eyes met with Minhyun's and the boy gave him a weak shake of the head. 

"Please...don't." He said softly.

"I can't just leave you here though," Seongwoo frowned. "If not the hospital...Tell me what to do."

"Take me home." Minhyun whimpered. He pointed to his jacket pocket. 

Hesitantly, Seongwoo reached inside Minhyun's jacket pocket and took out his phone. 

Minhyun softly whispered his pass code. "Call the first number in my contacts. He'll know what to do."

"O...Okay." Seongwoo nodded. He clicked the first contact and pressed the phone against his ear while staring down at Minhyun who laid weakly on his lap.

" _Hello, Minhyun? Are you still there? It's late! I'm worried sick about you-"_

Seongwoo cleared his throat.

"Jonghyun?"


	6. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo makes a suggestion.

In mere moments after calling "Jonghyun", a car appeared at the cemetery. A boy, who looked around the same age as Seongwoo, came rushing out of the car. He had soft black hair with bangs that covered his entire forehead, very visible cheekbones and worried eyes. He was dressed formally in a white dress shirt and a black vest.

"He just fainted. I-I don't know what happened prior..."

"Help me lift him up." Jonghyun said.

Seongwoo nodded and helped lift Minhyun into the car.

"He's going to be okay, right?" Seongwoo asked.

Jonghyun looked at him as he strapped his seat belt on. "Of course he will. Now get in, please."

"Huh?"

"You're in pretty rough shape and asking questions is only a formality." Jonghyun explained.

Seongwoo had no time to question things and got into the front seat. He was afraid of bumping into Minhyun's family - Minhyuk, especially. He promised Minhyuk that he'd stay away from their life and keep his addiction a secret.

"His parents must be worried sick back at the estate." Seongwoo stared at Minhyun through the rear view mirror.

"Minhyun lives alone." Jonghyun said. Seongwoo noticed his grip tightening at the wheel.

"Oh, I see." Seongwoo said awkwardly. At least he didn't have to worry about bumping into Minhyuk. 

The rest of the car ride was silent.

They were such a rush to bring Minhyun to the infirmary (because apparently all rich people have their own personal doctors?) that Seongwoo could not fully take in the exterior of the mansion.

It was almost as large as Minki's, which said a lot. There was a large marble fountain with a baby angel shooting water out of it's mouth, neatly trimmed bushes and beautiful flowers on the left and right sides of the lawn, and arrow signs that pointed to different areas of the estate.

Seongwoo had no idea why he agreed to tag along. It was a thought that resurfaced every three seconds as he sat outside of the infirmary by himself. He was only able to get a quick glimpse of the inside of the house as they immediately sprinted upstairs, but it felt greatly different from Minki's. The eccentric, flamboyant boy's house was filled with life.

Minhyun's was the opposite. It felt rather empty, both metaphorically and literally. There were absolutely no pictures or hangings of any sort on the walls. The lights were off in every corridor and only the sound of the wind coming from the windows was heard, making the place feel haunted.

Jonghyun finally came out of the infirmary and let out a large sigh. "He'll be alright. He'll be out for the rest of the evening though." 

Seongwoo was in the middle of nodding when Jonghyun suddenly dropped down on both knees. Huh?

"Thank you for finding Minhyun." Jonghyun said graciously, pressing his forehead against the floor. "I don't know who you are, but please let me pay you back somehow."

"W-What? No! It's alright, you don't have to go that far!" Seongwoo threw his arms in the air. His ears were burning.

Who exactly was Jonghyun and why did he care about Minhyun so much?

Was he also a member of the Hwang family and wasn't in any articles?

Was he Minhyun's best friend?

His boyfriend?

Jonghyun lifted his head from the floor and frowned. "Then at least stay the night and let our doctor treat your injuries."

Shocked, Seongwoo raised both brows and stuttered, "H-How could you tell?"

Jonghyun pointed at Seongwoo's right arm. He looked down at his sleeve and saw blood stains. Sharpening pain returned to his wrist. He didn't even notice. 

"Oh. Well, shit." Seongwoo blinked. He chuckled nervously. "I-I'll be fine!"

"Don't be ridiculous, come here." Jonghyun grabbed Seongwoo's hand and dragged him inside.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo slowly regained his consciousness. Light peaked from the window curtains, hitting his face. He raised his arm to shield his eyes and when he lifted his hand to the air, the first thing he noticed was that the ceiling was different. 

When he turned his body to the side, he saw Hwang Minhyun lying in the bed across from him. His mouth slowly shaped into a large O, gasped for air and dramatically fell off the bed. He crashed hard onto the floor and felt the pain from the evening before coarse through from head to toe. He rubbed his aching back and slowly peaked his eyes up from the covers.

Minhyun didn't move an inch. He slept soundly with a towel on his forehead. His cheeks were rosy, but toned down from the sharp red it had once been. The events of last evening rolled back in Seongwoo's head like rewinding a tape.

Finding Minhyun next to his father's grave on the anniversary of his death. Minhyun fainting. Meeting Jonghyun. Staying the night.

On the table next to the bed was his phone. He turned it on and saw a total of 101 missed calls from Jihoon, Woojin and his aunt.

He was an adult! Why were they so worried?! 

But then again, yesterday was the anniversary of his father's deaths. Perhaps reckless actions was something that crossed their mind.

Nonetheless, he had a ton of explaining to do once he got home. 

At the very least, he was thankful that it was the weekend so he wasn't missing any lectures. But he did miss out on giving his father a proper visit. Even worse, he broke his whistle. And on top of his injuries, he still felt like absolute crap.

He stood up from the ground and lifted his sleeve to stare the bandage that was wrapped around his wound. He walked up to the mirror and lifted his shirt. Staring from his shoulder, he saw that he had a couple of bandages around his back where he was kicked.

The pain was durable. He gave Minhyun one last stare and went out the door. The hallways were eerie as ever, but the lights were on, making the place feel less haunted. Muffled voices came from downstairs but Seongwoo was hesitant on going down. He shuffled his feet against the carpet, back pressed against the wall and tried to peek down the staircase.

"Ah, you're up!" 

Seongwoo gasped for air and stumbled backwards. Jonghyun, dressed formally as ever, stood in front of him, a smile plastered across his face and arms crossed. 

"U-Uh, I was just leaving." Seongwoo said.

"But Seongwoo," Jonghyun chuckled. "you aren't even wearing shoes."

Jonghyun placed Seongwoo's shoes down. Seongwoo's eyes widened at his wiggling toes. He didn't even notice. 

"You must be starving," Jonghyun smiled. "Come downstairs. The chef has prepared a wonderful breakfast for you."

Seongwoo gulped. He put on the shoes and walked downstairs slowly. Jonghyun gracefully opened a door, revealing a grand dining hall. A long table spread from the entrance to the end, with a velvet tablecloth, topped with fine silverware placed neatly (Was this the medieval times?!) Standing on both sides at the front of the table were five guys dressed in similar formal attire to Jonghyun.

"Meet Minhyun's servant and home support team!" Jonghyun said cheerfully. "Kim Jaehwan, Yoon Jisung and Kwak Aron are the cleaners slash maids, in charge of making sure this house is clean and up to our master's standards. But Minhyun is a bit of a...per say...a clean freak? It's quite hard to satisfy him, especially since those two-" He pointed at Dongho and Jaehwan. "-are the _worst_ at cleaning."

"We're not bad! Minhyun was just a vacuum in his past life!" Dongho snapped.

"I don't know what that means, but yeah, he's way too picky." Jaehwan crossed his arms and pouted.

"Ha Sungwoon here is our gardener, in case you were wondering why the front yard looks amazing. Just wait until you see the garden." Jonghyun continued, ignoring their remarks. "And this is Kang Dongho, the chef. Although he's more of a chef for us, since Minhyun is rather picky and likes cooking his own meals most of the time."

"Nice to meet you!" The five servants said, all bowing in unison. 

Seongwoo jumped back in surprise. "You don't really have to bow in front of me!"

"But you saved our master, which is something we all failed to do," Jonghyun said. "We are in your debt, Seongwoo. The lunch prepared this afternoon is our way of thanking you."

Seongwoo's ears felt warm. He was always bad at taking in compliments. He nodded and sat down. He inhaled the stew from the pot and got goosebumps. He poured a couple of scoops until his bowl was filled and clapped his hands together.

"I'll enjoy this meal!"

He dived in and his taste buds ascended to heaven at the taste. He blushed at the flavor and gave Dongho two thumbs up. Jonghyun giggled purely at Seongwoo's reaction. 

"So, Jonghyun, what's your role in the house?" Seongwoo asked.

"I'm the butler," Jonghyun said. "It used to be my father and I was merely a plain servant, but a year ago, he was reassigned to a relative of the Hwang's estate, so now I'm the head butler."

"Ah, I see.."

"You're thinking it's weird because of how young I am, right?" Jonghyun laughed. "Considering we're the same age and I'm only a couple of months older than him."

"N-No, not at all!" Seongwoo threw his hands in the air, heat rushing to his cheeks. "It's just...initially I thought this house was rather big for just Minhyun, considering he doesn't live with his family. But now that I see he has a bunch of servants with him, it's a bit relieving. I can't imagine how lonely I'd be if I lived in this big place alone." 

He placed down his spoon and cocked his head to the side. "But why  _does_ Minhyun live apart from his family? It's not weird at all for an adult to move out on their own, but when his entire family lives in one big estate except for him, I'm just a bit curious..."

The room went silent, as if a candle was blown out. Seongwoo looked up from his bowl of stew and raised a brow at the pale expressions of the servants. 

"Sorry, is that confidential information?" Seongwoo clapped his hands together and lowered his head apologetically. "I won't pry in. Just forget I asked."

There was another short pause before Jonghyun finally spoke. 

"No, it's not that. We're used to it being common information to the higher ups, so it's a bit of a shock when someone like you doesn't know anything." Jonghyun's eyes darkened, glimmering a similar shade of Minhyun's. He inhaled and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"You see, Minhyun is the illegitimate child of the CEO Hwang Daehyun and his former nurse, Kwon Hyeri." 

Seongwoo's heart almost stopped at that moment. His memory viciously flashed back to the night in the cemetery. The grave that was dug around the same year his own father died. A gravestone with the name "Kwon Hyeri" engraved on it. The grave that Minhyun stood in front of in a state of absolute grief. 

"Until Minhyun was in his early teens, he lived with his mother in a small house far from here. When she passed away, no one knew what to do with Minhyun. Hwang Yewon, the CEO's wife, rejects Minhyun as a part of the Hanjin Group and refuses to acknowledge him at all. The CEO, out of love for Minhyun, tried his best to convince her to give Minhyun a chance. But she was only able to forgive her husband, out of respect for the company. They came to a middle agreement and now, Minhyun is forced to live alone in the second estate. He is not allowed to step into the main estate nor is he allowed to participate in business affairs."

The pieces of the puzzle slowly began to form, one by one. This was why Minhyun did not exit the car with Minhyuk and Haesoo, why he hated every second he spent at the party, and why he looked so damaged. 

Seongwoo clenched his fists and pressed them against his thighs. Minhyun, like Seongwoo, lost his mother. He could not imagine the amount of pain he was going through. 

The sound of chairs sliding across the floor broke Seongwoo out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw that all the servants were on their feet, bowing directly behind Seongwoo.

"Welcome, CEO!" The servants greeted in unison.

A shadow hovered from behind. Seongwoo turned around and was faced off with a man he recognized from the articles. He was the spitting image of every picture. Hwang Daehyun, the CEO of the Hanjin Group and Minhyun's father.

"You must be Ong Seongwoo," He offered his hand. "I heard everything from Jonghyun. Thank you for saving my son."

"I-It was nothing really," Seongwoo awkwardly shook his hand. "I just happened to be in the area and I couldn't just leave him there in that state."

"Y-You're supposed to say, it was my honor, CEO!" Jaehwan ran up and whispered in his ear.

 Seongwoo pushed Jaehwan away and frowned. "What is this, a castle? Am I a peasant?"

"Shhh, you're in front of one of the richest and most powerful men in South Korea!" Jaehwan said.

"And I'm Ong Seongwoo, president of Mars." 

Unexpectedly, The CEO started laughing. This received shocked expressions from all of the servants, Jonghyun included. 

"Ah, aren't you just refreshing? I have never met anyone so willing to talk to me casually." He grinned widely and squeezed Seongwoo's shoulder. "I love it! We need more fearless, daring people like you! Say, say, would you like to be my son? You seem more lively than my own son, who still acts like a tween boy undergoing puberty every time I visit."

"Father, before you think about replacing me, start by replacing that weird attitude of yours." Minhyun's voice came from the top of the staircase. Slowly, he made his way downstairs. Jonghyun came running towards him and supported his body.

"Why are you out of bed?" Jonghyun pressed his hand against Minhyun's forehead. "You still have a bit of a fever. Go back upstairs, I'll bring you something to eat if you're hungry."

"Get out of my way," Minhyun shoved Jonghyun aside. "You know I don't eat anyone else's cooking but my own."

The CEO, his smile remaining strong, walked past Seongwoo and went up to his son. "I'm glad you finally visited her after all these years. So? Were you able to say everything you wanted to her? I wish I could have visited. I was so caught up with work that-" 

"Shut up." Minhyun clicked his tongue and clenched his fists. He shoved his father aside and stepped back. "Get away from me. You of all people don't get to talk to me about mom." He stomped in Seongwoo's direction, intending to go past him, but stopped once their eyes met. "You. I need to talk to you in the kitchen." He glared at Jonghyun and his father. " _Alone._ "

Before Seongwoo could even think of something to say, Minhyun grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the kitchen - shoujo manga style. Minhyun slammed the door behind him and pushed a chair against the handle so no one could come in.

A million dangerous scenarios played in Seongwoo's head.

What if Minhyun was furious that Seongwoo saw him in such a vulnerable state and was about to beat him up?

What if Minhyun had intentions of getting rid of Seongwoo to ensure this entire situation remained under the ground?

What if Minhyun hired _HITMEN_ in the time that Seongwoo was downstairs and he was currently breathing his last moments?!

Minhyun bowed. "Thank you." 

Wait - _what_?

"Huh?" Seongwoo could not believe his ears. His eyes, too, were deceiving him, because Minhyun was giving him the most sincere, apologetic look that Seongwoo had ever seen. 

"I don't know why you were there, but thank you for saving me." Minhyun reached into his pocket, took Seongwoo's hand, uncurled his fingers and placed a piece of paper on his palm. "Here's my number. If you ever need a favor, I'll make sure to answer."

Seongwoo felt unsettled looking at Minhyun's number. He didn't like this. 

"I know what you're thinking," Minhyun said. "Why am I thanking someone who threw a cake at me, stomped on my foot and saw me crying in front of my mother's grave?"

Seongwoo couldn't believe he remembered the cake incident. He covered his mouth to hold back from laughing.

"What?" Minhyun frowned. "Would you like something else? Money?"

Seongwoo shook his head and ripped the paper in half. "I won't need any of that."

"What?" Minhyun frowned. "Are you testing me? What do you want from me then?"

"I don't want anything from you!" Seongwoo snapped.

"Excuse me?"

"I just happened to be in the area, okay?" A series of lies begun. "I was beat up because it was slippery and dark, so my clumsy ass fell down a couple flights of stairs. I was lost and somehow ended up in that graveyard. I was passing by and just saw you. I couldn't just leave you there, okay? I helped you because it was the right thing to do. I don't want or need anything from you."

He stopped talking to catch his breath. Minhyun was gaping and eyes bulged in shock of the severity of Seongwoo's outburst, and Seongwoo felt bad for lying but the meaning behind his words were true. He did not want anything in return. He wanted nothing to do with these people. 

He exhaled and exited the room. From the looks of the CEO and the servants, it appeared that they overheard their entire conversation. 

"You threw a  _cake_ at him?!" Jisung gasped.

"You stomped on his foot?!" Dongho laughed obnoxiously. 

 Seongwoo sighed quietly amidst their laughter their and bowed. 

"Thank you for letting me stay the night, treating my injuries and preparing me this great meal. All of this was more than enough than what I deserve." Seongwoo said. "But I'm fine now and I should be making my way back home. My aunt must be worried sick about me."

"I'll give you a ride back home." The CEO offered. 

"Thank you, but you really don't have to do that." 

The CEO gave Seongwoo the "I won't take no for an answer" expression, followed by,  "I have the afternoon off anyways and my driver has been waiting for me at the front."

 Seongwoo seriously just wanted to go home, take a ten hour nap and forget this ever happened. His life was slowly falling deeper in a world he wanted nothing to do with. What he hoped ended after last month's party ended up being a continuation of more complicated events. 

He sat in the back seat of the CEO's tesla and fidgeted around uncomfortably. The car felt awfully light, as if he wasn't even sitting in a car. He kind of wanted to throw up at the smoothness of the ride.

"I was the one who told Minki to hire someone to take care of Haesoo on the night of the party," the CEO said suddenly. "My oldest son, Minhyuk, has quite a...intense personality, and I didn't want his attitude to affect our families ties."

Calling his personality 'intense' was an understatement.

"But I heard from her that she had a wonderful time at the party, all thanks to you." He smiled at Seongwoo through the rear view mirror. 

Seongwoo smiled back. "I'm glad."

"And with my other son, Minhyun..." He changed the subject. "My apologies for his behavior. Minhyun is a hard person to understand and it's virtually impossible to get him to open up. It's understandable, considering all he's been through. But there was a time where he was very kind, cheerful and very gentle."

The car stopped at a red light. Seongwoo stared out of the tinted windows and watched a family - a young mother and father holding hands with their daughter - laugh as they crossed the street. 

"I've hired all kinds of odd servants and assistants for Minhyun, in hopes that they can get him to open up and talk about his problems...but they all ended up quitting because of his attitude." The CEO groaned. "Most of them don't even last a week. The most recent one just quit a month ago. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Seongwoo watched as the family approached another family that also had a daughter. The girl seemed to be the same age as the other and they ran up to give each other a big hug.

The light turned green and the car began to move again. The remaining car ride was silent until they arrived at his aunt's bed and breakfast. He got out of the car and the front window rolled down. 

"Thank you for for the ride home, sir. I really, really appreciate it." Seongwoo shook his hand. 

"Don't worry about it!" The CEO squeezed his hand and patted his side. 

Right as Seongwoo let go of his hand, a thought came to his head. 

"A friend."

"Hm?" The CEO raised a brow.

"Maybe all Minhyun needs is a friend," Seongwoo said. "Someone who understands and accepts him for who he is. Someone who he can be himself around."  

With that, Seongwoo gave the CEO one last bow and unlocked the front door. As he closed the door behind him, Seongwoo could have sworn he heard the words, "A friend, huh?" come out of the CEO's mouth before the windows rolled up and the car drove off into the distance.

As he shut the door behind him, breathing in the fresh air of his home, he felt something in his front pocket. He reached in and took out a crumpled piece of paper. Written on it:

_**Here's my son's number. He still owes you a favor. - CEO** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! it makes me so happy to wake up to new hits, comments and kudos!!


	7. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo takes a risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH for 1000+ hits and 100+ kudos!!! to express my gratitude, there will be some concept art at the end of this chapter ❤️

"It is unfortunate for me to say we cannot offer you a paycheck in advance. However, The interview went great so we'd be happy to welcome you as a member of our staff."

Seongwoo squeezed his phone and sucked in his breath. "Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline. I'm so sorry."

He hung up and went to the contacts app. He stared at Minhyun's number. Absolute desperation drove Seongwoo to copy down his number from the note the CEO gave him. 

Moments later, he found himself calling that number. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Seongwoo's mouth was dry and he did not know what to say.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Minhyun sighed. "I'm hanging up-"

"Wait. Please don't." Seongwoo said weakly, clinging tightly to his phone.

 "Who is this?"  

"Ong Seongwoo."

A short pause.

"Seongwoo, huh? How'd you get my number?"

"Your father gave it to me," He took a deep breath. "And if it's not too late...I'd like to use my favor."

"Oh, that so?" Minhyun said. "I'm glad you've come around. What do you want?"

"A high paying job that can pay me a large portion in advance."

"How much are we talking about?"

"Like...Six thousand dollars."

Seongwoo closed his eyes and pulled the phone away from his ear. He expected Minhyun to scream at him and tell him his request was absurd. Or just hang up. But instead, he said:

"That's a pretty big request. Am I allowed to ask what it's for?"

Seongwoo didn't answer.

"Nevermind. Forget I asked."

"I'm sorry. If you can't do this, then it's-"

"No, my father should be able to pull some strings. Do you have a pen and paper on you? I'll tell you the address to the Hanjin Group building and I'll let my father know to organize a meeting with you."

Seongwoo stumbled off his bed and reached for a scrap piece of paper and a pen to write with. He put his phone on speaker and placed it down on his lap. Minhyun begun to recite the address.

"I'm sorry. I seriously hate to ask for money."

"There's no point apologizing. For whatever reason, you need the money." He was surprisingly more open about the situation than Seongwoo expected. "Anyways, you got the address down right? Then my job here is down."

"Minhyun, wait-" 

He hung up.

Seongwoo threw his phone down. He covered his face with his blanket and pressed his heart over his chest.

 _Calm down_ , he thought to himself. It felt like his heart was going to break.

Seongwoo hated relying on others.

He also hated how money was needed to save his aunt.

It was because Seongwoo was poor that his mother died due to an illness before he could even remember what she it felt like to be held in her arms.

And it was because Seongwoo relied on his father so much that his entire life broke apart when he died.

His father used to tell him that money was the root of all evil. “ _Money can’t buy happiness_.” was what his father used to say.

And maybe it didn’t. 

But if Seongwoo had money that day, his father would still be alive.

 

* * *

 

The Hanjin Group building occupied half of a city block, towering over the entire street over dozens of levels. Seongwoo walked inside and immediately felt out of place. He received judgmental side glances from the workers that passed by, all dressed in formal office attire. He sniffed his sleeve. 

He smelt good. He combed and even put a bit of gel in his hair. He even wore a _tie_. He didn't understand the stares.

He made his way up to the front desk and made a sudden halt when he saw a familiar figure leaning over to talk to the receptionist.

Oh _fuck_.

It was Hwang Minhyuk, who was intimidating and scary as ever. Although, at the party, Seongwoo was able to see a different side of him.

His fight or flight mode switched on at the sight of Minhyuk and immediately decided that running away was the best solution. He twisted his heel and turned away.

"Hey, don't I know you?" 

Damn it all.

Seongwoo, with his back facing the front desk, cleared his throat. "No. You don't. I don't know you either. I must be in the wrong place. Ha. Ha." He spoke in a robotic voice and stiffly shuffled his feet against the floor.

Get out Seongwoo.

Get the fuck out.

His arm was latched onto and he was thrown backwards until he came face to face with Minhyuk, who glared down at him. 

“Man, your eyebags are intense.” Seongwoo muttered. 

"I do recognize you." Minhyuk's eyes widened and he clicked his tongue. "You're coming with me."

"I really don't think that's a good idea..." Seongwoo said, but was in turn dragged off into an empty board room.

Minhyuk slammed and locked the door behind him, and the entire gesture reminded him of Minhyun. What was up with Seongwoo getting dragged off by both Hwang brothers?

Seongwoo let out a nervous chuckle. "So...How's your day been so far? Weather's been pretty good, nice and sunny, am I right-"

Minhyuk cornered Seongwoo to a wall and punched his fist inches away from his face. "What the  _fuck_ are you doing here?" He hissed angrily, nostrils flaring and breath heavy on his skin. "If you're here to tell my father about what happened at the party..."

"First of all, could you please step away? Your breath is nasty, my dude." Seongwoo bent down and escaped from underneath Minhyuk's arm. He took a couple of defensive steps back.

Minhyuk breathed into his palms and frowned. “My breath does not stink.”

”I know, I was kidding. It smells minty fresh.”

”You..." His face turned red. "I’m serious!”

"Alright, I'm sorry. But I am not going to tell anyone anything. I promise. And I don't break my promises."

That was partially a lie. But he really wasn't planning on telling anyone.

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?" Minhyuk snorted, rolling his eyes. "As if. I need to ensure your secrecy. How should I go about it?" He grabbed Seongwoo by the collar and pushed him against the wall. He winced in pain as his knuckles pressed against his neck, slightly cutting off his breathing. "Should I get rid of you? Or should I ruin your life first?"

Seongwoo laughed and placed his hands over where Minhyuk was gripping onto and tightly squeezed onto his wrists. "I dare you. There's nothing left of me for you to destroy anyways."

Minhyuk turned pale at Seongwoo's serious expression. Defensively, he pulled his arm back, ready to land a punch on Seongwoo. Before his fist made contact with Seongwoo's face, the door swung open, allowing light into the dim room. Seongwoo stared at the woman who came in through the front door and noticed the immediate change in the atmosphere of the room. She looked familiar. 

"Minhyuk, that's enough."

Minhyuk turned pale at the sound of her voice and let go of Seongwoo without a moment's hesitation. Seongwoo dropped onto the floor, gasping for air. He quickly fixed his wrinkled collar and rubbed his aching back. He watched as Minhyuk ran over to the woman and gave her a ninety degree bow.

"I'm sorry. I had a feeling he was threatening to reveal-"

"You don't need to finish that sentence, I know very well what was going on here." She interrupted. She slid past Minhyuk and approached Seongwoo. "Hello, you must be Ong Seongwoo." She offered her hand with a smile. Seongwoo hesitantly took it. It was terrifying cold.

Minhyuk trembled as he watched the woman and for some reason, she made Seongwoo's stomach churn and his heart restless. He didn't trust this woman.

"How do you know who I am?" Seongwoo asked.

"You have a meeting with my husband. It's my job as his wife and vice president of our company to know of all the affairs that take place." She tilted her head to the side and smiled.

Wife...? Vice President...?

Jonghyun's words came to mind.

She was Hwang Yewon, the woman who rejected Minhyun completely and banished him into the second estate.

She was supposed to be Minhyun's step-mother, but instead of fulfilling any sort of motherly role, she decided to abandon him, ban him from participating in business affairs and step into the main estate.

And now it appeared that she knew of Minhyuk's drug addiction. 

Just exactly what kind of a person was she?

"It looks like you finally realize who I am." Her face darkened but her smile remained. "I'll escort you to my husband's office. You head out first, though. I have to speak with my son."

Minhyuk's eyes were struck with fear. Seongwoo did not like the pretentious brat in the slightest. But for some reason, he didn't want to leave him alone. 

"Oh, it's alright." Seongwoo forcibly laughed, waving his arms up in the air. He reached over and pulled Minhyuk closer to him, wrapping an arm across his shoulder. "With all due respect, ma'am, Minhyuk told me he would show me the way to his father's office. As the vice-president you must have more important matters to attend to. I wouldn't want you to waste your time showing a mere commoner around, y'know?"

She narrowed her eyes and for a moment, Seongwoo felt like a fawn who had come face to face with a rabid beast. But her viscous, bloodthirsty aura faded in an instant and was replaced with a thin smile and soft laugh. 

"You're right."

"Well, it was an honor meeting you. Until next time." Seongwoo practically threw him and Minhyuk out the door. Once he closed the door, they made a break to the elevator and Seongwoo jammed his index finger against the close button repeatedly until the doors shut.

Seongwoo released a loud sigh of relief. "Sorry to drag you off like that, but I guess an adventure is always more fun when there's more people-"

"Why did you do that for me?" Minhyuk snapped, silencing Seongwoo. 

Minhyuk clenched his fist and punched the wall. He looked at him in the eye and saw tears forming. He was still shaking with fear, as if he had come face to face with death. 

Seongwoo faced the ground and bit his lip. "I guess I was just afraid of what would happen once I stepped outside of that room."

The elevator was silent for a moment before the doors opened again and a man walked and stood in between them. As the doors closed and Minhyuk and Seongwoo continue to stand apart in silence, the man coughed.

"Erm. Minhyuk, sir, could you please press one of the buttons so this elevator can move?"

Minhyuk hesitated before punching a button. Seongwoo and the other worker both jumped from their spot's in shock.  Seongwoo considered buying him a punching bag so he'd stop punching everything, for god's sake.

"T..Thank you, sir..." The worker whimpered and huddled into the corner of the elevator.

Eventually, the worker got off one of the floors, leaving Seongwoo and Minhyuk to themselves. They stood awkwardly, listening to the painful elevator music until they reached the top floor. Minhyuk stepped out first and pointed down the left hallway.

"My father's office is just at the end of that hall. But before I go, I just want to say that I don't like you. I hate you, even."

"Thanks. I feel the same way."

"But I'm going to trust you'll keep your word. And in return, I won't hurt you."

Seongwoo smiled. "That's good to hear." He turned around and waved as he made his way down the hall.

Although Seongwoo confidently strode down the hall, once he lifted his arm to knock on the CEO's office, his hand was trembling and his breath was shaky. He took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

The door opened slowly, revealing the smiling face of the CEO. "Ah, Seongwoo! I've been expecting you. Come in, come in." He shuffled over and patted on the cushion of the couch. 

The office was the size of a living room. With shelves alone each corner of the wall, minus the front which was made of glass, allowing Seongwoo to take in the breathtaking view from twenty stories above the ground. In front of the front desk were two couches with a table in the middle. A teapot was in the center of the table, steam coming out of the spout.

"Tea? Coffee?" He pointed at the coffee brewer. 

"Tea is fine..." Seongwoo said awkwardly. He sat down and poured himself a small cup of tea. After taking a sip, he stared at his muddy reflection in his drink and frowned. He placed the cup down and turned to the CEO, who was staring out the windows. 

"Um...I'd like to thank you for putting time aside for me." He cleared his throat. "CEO Hwang."

The CEO smiled. He twirled around and leaped down on the couch across from Seongwoo. He crossed one leg over the other and clapped his hands together. "I must admit, when I got a call from Minhyun, I was surprised. But I was even more shocked to hear that he was doing something for you. So, tell me, Ong Seongwoo, what would you like from me?"

"I assume you already heard the details from Minhyun, but I'll say it again..." Seongwoo gulped. "I really need a high paying job and a couple thousand dollars in advance. He said you could make it work."

"He's not wrong about that." The CEO grinned deviously. "As the head of the Hanjin Group, I could definitely get you a high paying job in one our companies in no time and a couple thousand dollars is nothing to me. After all you've done for my son, it would only feel right to reward you somehow." 

His eyes darkened and he leaned forward to stare deeply at Seongwoo. 

"But it would definitely be suspicious if you suddenly landed a high ranking job, beating people with more experience, a higher social standing, more wealth than you could imagine and college degrees. You are still in college, your only work experience is in a family restaurant, you come from a commoner family, and you don't have any money or social worth. If someone decided to dig into your history, which is rather common in this industry, you would definitely get exposed and it would not only look bad on  _you,_ but on us. I don't want to get on anyone's bad side, do you?"

Seongwoo dug his nails into his thighs in frustration. He was tongue tied. The CEO was right.

How was he supposed to save his aunt and her restaurant? 

"What should I do then?"

The CEO took another sip of his drink. He stood up and grabbed a picture frame that was on his desk. After sitting back down on the couch, he leaned over and handed the picture frame of Seongwoo. Unsure of what the CEO was planning, he took the picture frame and stared at it. It was an old picture of the CEO, his wife and Minhyuk as young boy. They were dressed nicely and their smiles shined brightly, giving off the impression that they were the perfect family.

But someone was missing.

"You've noticed? Yes, Minhyun isn't in this picture, nor is he in any of our family photographs." The CEO said, eyes sad. "My wife, Yewon, refuses to accept him. I understand her bitterness, but it was me who fell for Hyeri and had a child with her. Yet it is Minhyun who suffers." 

He gazed into his teacup. "I...I don't regret the time I shared with Hyeri, but I regret not being there for her or my son. It is because of my cowardice and negligence that Minhyun is so shut off. But he is still my son. I think that if slowly, he comes to terms with himself, then maybe my wife will too."

"I see." Seongwoo said. "And I'm sorry about this, but I don't know why you're telling me about your personal issues. No offense. But what do I have to do with your complicated relationship with your wife and son?"

"Eventually, I am going to have to retire." The CEO continued. "Although I hold the title as the CEO, she probably has more control and trust over the company than I do. But as the second in power, even she cannot overrule all my choices. But if Minhyuk takes over, then essentially it is my wife who has control over the entire Hanjin Group. That gives her full control to permanently remove Minhyun from our family and ruin his life without holding back."

"Wait, she still has plans of getting rid of Minhyun? Even after all this time?"

"Yes. I know I'm a terrible father. I failed to protect my son and I failed to get my wife to love him. But even so, I want to stop her from hurting him even more by giving Minhyun the strength to try and overcome my wife. And I think you can help him."

"Wait, what?" Seongwoo choked on his drink. "Did I hear that right?"

"This is my offer to you: If you join Minhyun's serving team, as his personal assistant, which is the second-in-line duty next to the butler, then you'll receive the same amount of pay that high-rankers here do. And I can give you all the money you need in advance without anyone looking into it. But ' _assistant_ ' is merely a title. Frankly, I want you to be his friend. I want you to be there for him and help him open up."

"I...I don't know if I can accept that." His stomach churned, "It feels unfair and fake to get paid to be his friend. Wouldn't Minhyun want something genuine?"

"Minhyun has always been completely aware of my attempts to help him and there is no doubt that he see this through as well. Minhyun doesn't have many duties because my wife restricts him from doing anything, so the assistant role is virtually useless."

"T-then why do I have to be his assistant if it's a completely useless role?! Isn't it annoying to even have an assistant around when he has no duties?!"

"I know it's useless, but what else am I supposed to do?!" The CEO whined childishly, kicking his feet up and down. 

What the hell was wrong with rich people?! 

Seongwoo expected to work a typical 9-5 office job with hour lunch breaks where he got to listen to his middle age coworkers whine about their marriage and watch golf. Not babysit a rich guy.

"Doesn't the vice-president know about this, though?" Seongwoo asked. "I saw her earlier on my way here. She knew of our meeting."

"As far as she knows, you're here to beg for an office job. I made sure to keep the details restricted."

The CEO was really serious about this. But even so...

"I know you can reach him." The CEO declared.

Seongwoo's eye twitched. The idea of having to stay side by side with Hwang Minhyun made him nauseous.

"Why...Why me?" He asked. "Is it because of what I said the other day, about how Minhyun needs friends? Or because I was daring enough to step on his foot and throw cake at him? Because that doesn't make me capable, it makes me an idiot."

"Well, at least you can admit it."

Seongwoo was going to pretend the CEO didn't just agree with him.

"But there are surely other people like me. People with more experience, and who are more willing and stronger. As much as I need the money...I don't want to wrong him like this.."

"You're a good person." The look in the CEO's eyes changed again.  "But you're different."

Seongwoo opened his mouth to reply, but the CEO spoke first.

"Ong. That name comes from your mother's side of the family, right?"

Seongwoo's heart dropped. 

His father's last name was Yeun. It was because his last name was different that Seongwoo could get away with lying to Minhyun that he was only passing by the graveyard when he saw him. Ong was uncommon and anyone would be able to see through his lies if his father had that last name on his grave.

"H...How did you know that?"

"Your mother died due to a fatal illness when you were a baby. You were raised by your father. You weren't rich, but your father worked many jobs to make ends meet. "

"How do you know this? Were you researching me? That's an invasion of privacy!"

"It is only normal for me to research someone who wants to work with me."

Seongwoo felt sick. 

"You must have looked up to your father a lot. He seemed very hardworking But...You'd think a family who was never greedy would know their place, but your father didn't."

"Stop. Please stop it!" He screamed, covering his ears.

Seongwoo was going to die. He could hear his heart beating out of his chest. It felt like his blood was boiling and rushing backwards. 

_"After losing his office job, he took on a job as a construction worker, and one day . . ."_

The CEO's voice faded out as Seongwoo drowned in his painful memories. He was sinking deeper and deeper in the abyss of his suffering. 

It was a chilly summer day. The streets were filled with laughing children and music chorused the air. Seongwoo was sitting at home watching his favorite cartoon and to him, waiting to greet his father with a large hug. And to Seongwoo, those days were simple.

Then there was a knock on the door. From that day on, Seongwoo nothing was simple in his life.

His father fell to his death on the construction site.

Seongwoo classified life in two parts. Before his father died, and after.

In the events before his father passed away, Seongwoo’s palette was a mixture of primary colors waiting to be mixed and delicately brushed onto an empty canvas. But the palette was shattered, paints stiffened and cracked on the surface, the mediums vanished, and the colors faded to a barren wasteland of grey and nothingness. 

Seongwoo was a representation of that dull, grey canvas.

The CEO's voice reached Seongwoo's ears. "I can imagine the pain you were going through, to lose someone you love-"

"If it was just an accident, maybe...one day, I would have been able to accept it." Seongwoo said shakily. "But what you _don't_ know is that he wasn't supposed to work that day. I was upset that all my friends got such nice gifts for their birthdays, and I never did. So my father took on extra shifts for me. It is because I was selfish that my father died."

His death was the reason why Seongwoo despised asking others for help. He never wanted to receive money for free, because his father worked so hard for money and was unable to get it in the end. Despite this, Seongwoo felt bad receiving money even after working hard for it. After all, it was because of father's strong desire for money and willingness to go to great lengths for Seongwoo that led to his demise. His thoughts contradicted one another and the constant battle in his mind was destroying him slowly.

Seongwoo was terrified of loving someone that much. He was terrified of the things love and desire could do to a person. He was a victim, as well. The fact that he was willing to go through such lengths for his aunt was terrifying. The fact that he had to depend so hard on people he wanted nothing to do with was awful.

He never wanted any of this.

He shook his head to get out of his thoughts and glared angrily. "And what about all of this? Are you just trying to break me down? Why would you even bring this up? What happened in the past and to my father is..."

"You were only thirteen when you lost your father, which was the same age Minhyun was when Hyeri died." 

Seongwoo's chest tightened and eyes widened. 

"And despite the both of you losing one of their parents, you grew up to be strong, while Minhyun continues to hide."

Seongwoo wanted to laugh. 

He was many things, but strong was not one of them.

False strength was all he had to keep himself from breaking apart.

"I learned that your aunt is ill," The CEO said. "That is why you need the money, correct? To pay for her medical bills."

The more the CEO spoke about Seongwoo's personal life, the more Seongwoo's lungs closed up and he could barely breathe.

"Your aunt has a chance to live normally and healthy with proper surgery, and with each day that she does not receive it, her condition worsens. Are you willing to wait another day?"

The CEO, who wore a bright smile, overbearing bright personality, was threatening him. This was his true personality. Even if his intentions were to protect his son, it was still cunning.

"What if I fail?" Seongwoo suggested.

"Don't think about that right now," He smiled. "Besides, if it comes down to it, I will simply remove you from the household."

"Wait, I'll have to li _ve_ with him?" Seongwoo almost choked again.

"Of course. You live an hour away from his estate. It wouldn't be convenient to take the train every day. Especially if something urgent happens. As a servant, you must prioritize him."

Seongwoo couldn't believe he was considering doing this. But it wasn't so much his willingness to work with Minhyun, but his desire to help his aunt. That, and he was being fucking threatened by one of the most powerful men in the country.

"And how long do I have?" 

The CEO placed a thick booklet down on the table. "Six months. The rest of the information is here." He flipped to a page and pointed on one line. "And this is how much you'll get paid."

Seongwoo almost fainted. Holy shit.

He stared at the pen next to the contract and gulped. "Will you really help me?"

The CEO placed down a cheque with six thousand dollars on it.

 "I swear on my life."

 

* * *

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the lack of onghwang, but this chapter was meant to go further into the pain that seongwoo is going through. more onghwang in the next chapter though, i promise!
> 
> thank you for reading!!


	8. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo comes up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been super busy lately so I'm sorry for making this update a day late... I try to update every thursday, but considering how hectic life has been, I'm not sure how long I can keep that up for... But this chapter is longer than the others if it makes up for it in the slightest :) <3

There were heavy bags under Seongwoo's eyes as he stared at his reflection in the dirty mirror. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face. He shook the water out of his bangs and walked out of the restroom. Taking in a deep breath, he opened the door.

Jihoon leaned against the wall, arms crossed and face towards the window. It was opened slightly, allowing the summer breeze to sweep the room and made the curtains dance. Across his aunt's bed was Woojin, who sat on the couch. He leaned over the table and was quickly eating out of a cup of instant noodles. His aunt sat up on the bed with a book on her lap.

All three of them turned to Seongwoo upon his entrance and as he braced himself for impact, his aunt threw her book down on the floor aggressively. Woojin jumped from his seat and Jihoon stood straight. 

"I can explain-" 

"You promised!" She screamed, grabbing her pillow and throwing it at him. "You promised me!"

Jihoon ran over and gently grabbed a hold of her shoulders while Woojin went up to Seongwoo. 

Woojin tugged at his sleeve. He looked up from his shaking hands to his friend. "The doctor told us that you have the money to pay for all of her medical expenses, the surgery included. She can get the surgery as soon as next week. Is that all true, Ong?"

Seongwoo gulped and slowly nodded. "I got a job. I know I promised I wouldn't, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing."

"So you're just going to throw away your father's dream?!" His aunt yelled.

"No!" Seongwoo unintentionally raised his voice.  "This job won't interfere with my studies."

"I find it hard to believe that you landed such a well paying job," She snarled. "Not to mention how absurd it is that you got that much money in a matter of days. You aren't working with gangs or selling drugs are you?"

"Auntie, you know Ong wouldn't do that." Jihoon said in defense. Before Seongwoo could feel any sort of relief, he added, "But Seongwoo, you have to understand that we're all pretty worried. I didn't want to bring this up either, but I went into your room earlier and everything was packed up."

"What? You're leaving the house?" His aunt gasped. "What the hell are you doing?"

He turned away. "I'm an assistant. I just have to live with my boss, okay? I swear I'm not doing anything illegal. I'm an adult, and family, so you have to trust me." He scratched the back of his head. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Thanks to the money I received, you can get surgery and medication. You can  _live."_

Woojin backed away as the tension in the room grew. He nudged Jihoon's shoulder. "Let's give them some space." 

Jihoon nodded and the two exited the room. 

"I promise I will visit a lot and I'll visit you and the help around at the restaurant a lot okay? It's only for six months. I'll be fine." 

She buried her face in her hands and cried, "Why are you so stubborn? Your father was like this too. You take risks recklessly for others sake and end up hurting yourself the most."

It was moments like these where Seongwoo was reminded that he didn't just lose his father. His aunt lost her brother. He knelt on the ground and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers. 

"Because I can't lose anyone else." 

He stood up and moved to the door. He gave her one last smile and left the room that was beginning to fill with her silent weeps. He closed the door behind him and faced Jihoon and Woojin, whose expressed deep worry in their eyes. They were like family to him.

"I'm sor-" Seongwoo started.

"We'll take care of her, so you don't have to worry about anything." Jihoon said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, so you just do whatever you need to do and we'll trust you." Woojin placed his hands on his hips and nodded.

Seongwoo nodded and blinked back tears. He grabbed both of their arms and pulled them in for a tight embrace. "I love you guys."

Jihoon pressed his hand against Seongwoo's cheek and pulled away. "D-Don't say embarrassing shit like that!"

 

* * *

 

The moving trucks were coming to get Seongwoo's things the next morning. He also wasn't formally supposed to enter the house until then. But it was quarter past eight and for some reason, he found himself in front of Minhyun's estate, with nothing but the street lights along the street leading to his house and the stars in the sky keeping him company.

The day after Seongwoo signed the contract with CEO Hwang, he received a text message from Jonghyun, who said the rest of the servants received his contact information and were made aware that he was hired as Minhyun's next assistant. Apparently, Minhyun was told of this as well. It was only expected that the person Seongwoo was going to be "assisting" was told of the news. 

And as Seongwoo also figured was that Minhyun was  _not_ going to be happy. Which was why he ignored all of Minhyun's calls.

A shadow begun to form from behind. Seongwoo turned around to face the silhouette and standing perfectly centered cast under the moonlight was Hwang Minhyun.

His hands were tucked in the pockets of his black trenchcoat, and his expression partially hidden by the popped collars. As he stared at Minhyun underneath the night sky, he slowly came to realize he would be living with this boy for the next six months. 

Minhyun lowered his gaze and sighed. As Seongwoo raised his arm, Minhyun walked past him and made his way towards the front gate.

Eh, did he just  _ignore_ him?

Seongwoo twirled around. "Wait."

Minhyun stopped in his tracks. He took one hand out of his pocket and scratched his head. "What? Aren't you coming in? You live here now, right?"

"Oh." Seongwoo blinked. "I don't actually move in until tomorrow. I was just..." His throat was clogged. He squeezed his eyes shut and bowed. "Thank you for everything and I'm sorry for intruding. I truly didn't think things would turn out like this-"

"Don't thank me. It was all my father's doing - the idea and his money. All I did was call him."

In a swift moment, Minhyun twisted his heel and stomped towards Seongwoo, eyes glistening. It happened so quickly that he suddenly lost his train of thought.

"Look, I know I owed you a favor. But let me put this straight for you; I don't want you to be here." 

Seongwoo's eyes widened. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but Minhyun was very different from him. Not in the way they were born in different social standings or their personal experiences, but something much deeper.

"I wish you had received a different job, but my father is persistent. So whether we like it our not, we're stuck with each other for the next six months." Minhyun said. "You're going to receive an official welcome and tour tomorrow from Jonghyun, but I'm going to tell you my rules now. One, don't get in my way. Two, don't force yourself to be nice around me. Three, don't go into the music room. As long as you follow these three rules, the next six months will be go by quickly."

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo barely got an few hours worth of sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, Minhyun's face popped up and he was grimly reminded of that...painful gaze0.

His eyes were filled with utmost pain that it cut like glass just to look at them, but at the same time, Seongwoo could not help but stare. He couldn't push away the tiniest urge that wanted to know more about the mysterious boy. But at the same time, with every second he spent with him, something painful stung inside of Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo adjusted his cap to block the direct sunlight that panned from the sky. He watched as the movers grabbed his suitcase and boxes into the estate. 

Standing at the front of the gate was Jonghyun, who held a lace white parasole to cover himself from the sun. How...dramatic.

"Who would have thought that we'd meet again like this?" Jonghyun chuckled lightly, leaning over to shield Seongwoo with the umbrella. "The news was shocking to all of us, but we're glad to have you here. The more the merrier."

As Jonghyun spoke, Seongwoo's naturally looked at the people further ahead. The servants that he already met. The movers carrying boxes into the house. The drivers, taking a drink break. He looked up at one of the windows on the higher levels. A shadow stood from behind the closed curtains and he narrowed his eyes. 

Jonghyun noticed Seongwoo had spaced out and laughed softly again. "He'll warm up to you in no time-"

Seongwoo tucked his hands in his pockets and bit the inside of his cheek. "Thanks, but I know Minhyun has no intentions of getting along with me. He told me his three rules already."

"He did?" He groaned, shoulders drooping. "I'm so sorry. Those rules are absurd and I hope you can disregard them." He shook his head. "Anyways, come inside. I'll give you a tour of the estate."

Jonghyun showed Seongwoo around outside first. Behind the mansion was a large garden almost the size of a park, covered in what looked like endless rows of radiant flowers. In the center of the garden was a small pond with ducklings swimming left and right, and a bench in front of it. To the right of the garden farmland size with growing crops of vegetables and crates of fruit.

"All of the food we make is personally sent over," Jonghyun explained. "Minhyun is rather picky with his food and he won't eat food that he doesn't know where it came from and isn't cooked from his own kitchen, by himself. Dongho is more of a chef to the staff, really."

Seongwoo remembered how savory his cooking was. He wanted to smack Minhyun up the side of his head for missing out.

The inside of the house was rather minimalistic - a better way to describe it was an IKEA model house. White granite tables, weathered wood walls with a window ceiling, allowing light into the living room. It was also terrifying clean. Seongwoo couldn't even see a spec of dust. 

He felt something hit his toes. He looked down and saw a round robotic vacuum cleaner repeatedly jamming against his feet. He lifted his foot and the vacuum cleaner darted past him and into the hallway.

He was shown the kitchen once again, the library, the theatre room and the fitness room, all of which made Seongwoo break into a panicked sweat with the thought: holy shit this guy was richer than he thought. 

As he followed Jonghyun who planned to show him the servants hall, Seongwoo passed by a room with a music sign on it. A small cracked revealed a part of a grand piano that was inside, and Seongwoo was reminded of Minhyun's warning not to go into the room. He couldn't help but wonder why it was a rule.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Jonghyun calling him down the hall and he ran down, but not before looking back at the mysterious music room.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo tried his best to settle into his new room. He had an amazing view that displayed the garden below and the mountains in the distance. His bed was softer and double the size of the one at home. He had enough room space to do three backflips, not that he could do any though. 

 He stuffed all of the clothes he packed into the closet and there was still more than half of the space to be filled up.

Behind him was a desk filled with sheets of paper and a company owned laptop. Above it was an empty cork board. Seongwoo searched his suitcase until he found a photograph of his aunt, Seongwoo, Jihoon and Woojin; it was from when the Park's first started working at the restaurant.

He pinned the photograph on the board and sighed out loud.

He changed into the outfit that Jonghyun supplied him with, a simple button up with a grey sweatshirt on top and dress pants, and stared at his reflection in the wall mirror. 

He was terribly lonely and uncomfortable with the situation he was in. But no matter how many shooting stars Seongwoo wished on, nothing would change. He lightly slapped his cheeks with both hands and clenched his fists. 

He stormed out into the hall, quickening his pace, turning with each corner until he finally saw Minhyun walking towards the staircase. He ran towards him and yelled, "Minhyun, wait!" while waving both hands into the air.

Minhyun made a disgusted face and ran down the staircase.

Seongwoo chased after him. "Wait!"

Once he was in arms reach, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him backwards. Seongwoo didn't anticipate how light Minhyun was and they simultaneously crashed onto the ground. Seongwoo was coughing and wheezing for breath.

"What the heck was that?" Minhyun hissed. 

"Why did you run away?!" Seongwoo asked, in between gasps for air.

"I don't know. I saw you coming in my direction and my mind just screamed...danger and then my instincts kicked in."

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"Anyways, what do you want from me so badly that you need to chase after me like a madman?"

Crap. Seongwoo hadn't thought that far. He was sociable and found it easy to get along with others, but Minhyun was different. Everything that came out of his mouth only seemed to infuriate him. It wasn't that Seongwoo had intentions of becoming Minhyun's best friend forever, and that title alone gave Seongwoo chills, but he had a job to do and a CEO he owed deeply.

Minhyun stood up and Seongwoo raised his hand, expecting Minhyun to grab it and help him up. Instead, Minhyun turned his back away. 

"If you have nothing to say to me then I'll be on my way."

"Wait!" Seongwoo called, desperate not to lose the moment. He had to think quickly, and his mind rushed with random thoughts of what to say. "Why won't you let me into the music room?"

Minhyun tensed up. "That is none of your concern. Maybe I should add that you shouldn't be allowed to question any of the rules I made up."

"But-"

Seongwoo shut up when Minhyun turned back with a malicious glare. "I told you not to get in my way."

 

* * *

 

As much as Seongwoo would like to follow Minhyun's idiotic rules, he had two reasons for continuing to pursue Minhyun. The first was that he felt guilty getting paid for doing absolutely nothing and if he did not produce results then the CEO could get rid of him sooner. The second was that he was annoyingly stubborn. 

He was going to  _make_ Minhyun be his friend at all costs.

 After his first dinner at Minhyun's estate, Seongwoo locked himself up in his new room that evening and took out a piece of paper and a pen. 

 

**ONG SEONGWOO'S MASTER PLAN**

**OBJECTIVE: GET STUPID MINHYUN TO BE MY FUCKING FRIEND**

**Strategy 1: Be extremely nice to him.**

 

Seongwoo woke up extra early the next morning to prepare himself. He stood outside Minhyun's door at eight am sharp, because according to Jonghyun, he always woke up around that time. Within ten minutes, like Jonghyun had predicted, the doorknob twisted sideways and Minhyun, still in pajamas and bedhead revealed himself.

For a moment, Seongwoo was taken back because until this moment, he didn't have any good impressions of Minhyun. But he was rather soft and it was endearing. 

Minhyun rubbed his eyes and looked at Seongwoo in confusion, his mind not clicking in the details yet. Panicked, Seongwoo cleared his throat and placed his hands on his hips.

"Good morning, Master!" Seongwoo greeted dramatically, eyes sparkling and teeth wide. "Today the weather is said to be at a high of 23 degrees celsius, isn't that wonderful?!"

Minhyun narrowed his eyes.

Seongwoo coughed. "U-Uh, but the sun is definitely not as vibrant as  _you_ are! I mean, you just woke up and you look  _dazzling!"_

Minhyun's stoic expression slowly shifted into a disgusted, mortified frown. Leaving his door open, he walked back into his room and shuffled towards his bed.

"A-Anyways, what are you up to for today?" Seongwoo asked. "I'm sure anything you have planned is well thought out and fun as always-"

Minhyun heaved his arm back and flung a pillow directly at Seongwoo's face, cutting his speech. The pillow flopped down on the floor and Seongwoo came face to face with an agitated looking boy. Seongwoo opened his mouth to speak but as he sucked in his breath, Minhyun grabbed the door and slammed it shut. The click of a lock came after.

Seongwoo stood out in the hallway for an entire hour until Minhyun finally came out. This time, his hair was brushed, but he was still in a robe and pajama pants. They stared at each other in silence for a solid minute until Minhyun suddenly raised one leg and broke off running down the hallway.

Seongwoo charged after him, noting that Minhyun was awfully slow, and jumped in front of him with his arms in the air. "PLEAAAASE WAAAAAAIT!"

Minhyun formed a defensive stance. "Leave me alone. What, are you going to throw another piece of cake at me?"

A snort escaped from his lips but he quickly stifled and cleared his throat. "Your hair looks fabulous today!"

Minhyun groaned and brushed past him. Seongwoo followed from behind.

"Are your ears working? Did you not hear me? Have you forgotten my rules?" Minhyun said angrily.

"I know, but I'm still technically your assistant." Seongwoo said. "So I kind of have to follow you around

"It's just a stupid title! There is no need for an assistant because I'm cooped up in this house all day!"

They went downstairs towards the kitchen. Seongwoo sat on the kitchen table and watched as Minhyun prepared breakfast.

"Your job is to help me when I need assisting," Minhyun said. "I have nothing to do right now."

"Hm...But as your  _assistant..."_ Seongwoo said, kicking his feet into the air. _"_ I'm supposed to take care of you and find you stuff to do. So until then, I'll follow you until I figure out what to do."

"Then I order you to leave!"

He stopped kicking. "That's not fair!" 

He jumped off the table and peeked into the fridge. "Why don't I cook you something? My aunt has some great recipes that are said to preserve good looks."

"I don't eat anyone else's food but my own."

Seongwoo held back the urge to tell him that was ridiculous. Seongwoo sat on the side in silence as Minhyun cooked. Once he finished, he set his plate down on the table and began to eat. Seongwoo awkwardly shuffled over and reached over his shoulders. Woojin massaged his shoulders a couple of times, so this was going to be easy.

He pressed his fingertips against Minhyun's skin and he reacted with a loud gasp. Minhyun turned around and slapped Seongwoo's wrist.

"That hurt! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a relaxing massage!"

"That was not relaxing! Why are you acting like this anyways? It's weird."

"I have  _no idea_ what you're talking about, Master." Seongwoo spoke in monotone, his posture straight and his hands on both sides. "I'm just here to cater to your every whim. I'm here for you as your best and only assistant!"

At that moment, Seongwoo saw another side of Minhyun as his eyebrows lowered and his lips stretched into a smirk. "Is that so?"

Seongwoo gulped. "Yes! Whatever you need from me, I'll make sure to take care of!"

 

* * *

 

It didn't take long for Seongwoo to realize that he made a terrible mistake. 

The tasks were odd to begin with. First, Minhyun ordered Seongwoo to go to the mall and buy him the latest watch from his favorite brand. He gave Seongwoo his credit card and loaned him a family car to drive there. It was easy, or so he had thought. It wasn't until Seongwoo returned home after purchasing the watch that he realized something was off.

Minhyun asked him to return the watch and buy him a different one. So Seongwoo did as he was told, brushing it aside, because perhaps Minhyun just changed his mind. But then Minhyun changed his mind  _again_ and asked Seongwoo to buy him a jacket instead?!

As if it couldn't get worse, Minhyun ordered Seongwoo to count the number of tomatoes growing on the farm (three times! Just to be exact!) because "he just needed to know". 

By the end of the day, Seongwoo was sunburnt and mentally drained. He stood in Minhyun's bedroom as Minhyun sat on his bed, reading a book. He put the book down and pointed at his closet.

"Can you get me a grey sweater? Any will do." Minhyun said.

"...Okay." Seongwoo gritted his teeth. He walked into the closet (which was literally the size of a bedroom) and took out the first sweater he found hanging on the racks. "Here."

"No, not that one. Get another one."

"...Okay." He grabbed a different sweater. "How about this?"

"No, that has a stain on the sleeve." 

"How about this one? It still has the tag on it."

"I don't want that one either."

"You said any would do!"

"Are you talking back to me?" Minhyun raised a brow.

That was the final straw. Seongwoo threw the hanger on the floor. "Stop playing around! I'm serious about my job you know!"

Minhyun's smirk wiped off his face. He stood up and leaned closer. "If you're serious about your job, then you should know that there's nothing I hate more in this world than fakes. If you're going to treat me differently because my father is paying you to be my friend, then I hate you being here. My father has been relentless on this whole assistant thing, and I know it's just his attempt to get me to open up. It's stupid and he's done it for years to no avail. So don't think you'll be any different."

He opened his door and stepped out into the hallway. Sighing loudly, Seongwoo's knees gave in and he crashed onto the floor. 

He wasn't just fighting because he owed the CEO and it was his job. Now, he was just fucking stubborn to make that asshole like him.

 

* * *

 

**STRATEGY 2: Ignore him completely**

His second plan ended up being worse than the last. Ignoring Minhyun was apparently all the brat could ever wish for and found content that Seongwoo was finally over his fake-nice antics. 

Seongwoo collapsed on the couch and covered his face with his hands. He let out a muffled screech. He felt a poke on the top of his head and he spread his fingers apart. Jonghyun stood above him with a smile on his face.

"I've never seen anyone so persistent before." Jonghyun laughed. "Your antics are rather amusing."

"I'm sorry for causing so much hysteria around the house." Seongwoo apologized.

"Don't be! In fact, I want you to keep at it." He formed a fist. "Don't give up, Seongwoo!"

Jonghyun sat down next to him. Seongwoo sat up and lifted his legs up on the couch. He rested his chin on his knees and wrapped his arms around his thighs. 

"How do you manage to live with him?" Seongwoo asked.

His second plan ended up being worse than the last. Ignoring Minhyun was apparently all the brat could ever wish for and found content that Seongwoo was finally over his fake-nice antics. 

"I've never seen anyone so persistent before." Jonghyun laughed. "Your antics are rather amusing."

"I'm sorry for causing so much hysteria around the house." Seongwoo apologized.

"Don't be! In fact, I want you to keep at it." He formed a fist. "Don't give up, Seongwoo!"

Jonghyun sat down next to him. Seongwoo sat up and lifted his legs up on the couch. He rested his chin on his knees and wrapped his arms around his thighs. 

"How do you manage to live with him?" Seongwoo asked.

"I've known Minhyun since we were children, so I guess you could say I've grown used to his behavior." Jonghyun explained nonchalantly. He leaned against the arm of the couch and gazed spaciously out the window. "I'll admit he was a lot different before, but even Minhyun from back then was hard to handle."

Seongwoo wondered just how different Minhyun was. But more so, why he changed so drastically. 

"But I promise that the more time you spend with him," Jonghyun turned to him and smiled asthe sunlight escaping from the curtains and hit his face. "the more you'll come to understand him and get used to it."

 

* * *

 

The following afternoon, Seongwoo sat in a cat cafe with his friend, Kang Daniel. He was avoiding him for awhile, but he knew that he owed an explanation. He was afraid all the information would be too overwhelming for one person to handle, so he took Daniel to a cat cafe, so he could at least pet some cats as he broke the news.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Daniel screamed loudly, causing the cat in his lap to leap out of his lap and run off. The workers all glared at him and he made an apologetic bow.

"I can't believe I'm living with Minhyun either." Seongwoo sank into the bean bag chair.

"Yeah, that's pretty shocking on it's own, but I'm more concerned about your aunt." Daniel said, which was surprising to Seongwoo. "How is she doing right now?"

"She's getting surgery too and the doctors say that there is a high chance of success so I think she'll be okay." Seongwoo said. "But thank you for worrying."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Daniel asked. "I have more than enough to pay for the medical bills."

"That’s  _exactly_ why I didn’t tell you."

"But you're fine with getting the money from the Hwangs? The Vice President doesn't even know about this and that's awfully risky to me..."

 "I know, I just..." He looked away and squeezed his fists. "I didn’t want to be a burden."

Daniel moved closer to Seongwoo and brought his hand to his. "Ong, it worries me more that you keep things like this from me. We’re friends, remember? I’m here for you."

Seongwoo felt pain shoot across his heart.

"I know, but I don’t want you to go out of your way for me. Especially since I can’t do anything in return."

"I offer you things because I want to, not because I need to or because I want you to owe me. Come on, is it too late to back out of that contract? I can pay for everything."

He shook his head. "No, I have to stay with him for six months. What’s done is done. I’m sorry for not telling you though. I guess I couldn’t find the right time."

"There doesn’t have to be a right time for everything," Daniel placed his hand over his own heart. "I’m always here for you. Why is it so hard for you to let me help you?"

It was harder to explain through words. Seongwoo wished he could open his heart up and let Daniel see everything he feeling inside because he simply could not explain himself. 

Daniel sighed and shrugged. “Anyways, let's change the subject. What’s it like living with Minhyun?”

Seongwoo sat up in his seat, feeling a rush of energy coarse throughout his body. "All those stories you heard about him? They’re  _nothing_ compared to reality! He’s awful! The tasks he gives me are ridiculous, like who the fuck needs to count the number of tomatoes in your fucking garden?"

"There's no way he made you do that!"

"Oh, but he did!" Seongwoo insisted. "He’s a clean freak too, I drop one crumb and he blows up! And why does he even have a chef if he cooks all this food?! On top of that he won’t let me, or anyone for that matter, touch it. And he never leaves the house, but he’s healthy and in good shape! I think he might be a vampire! A crazy vampire!"

Daniel laughed as Seongwoo ranted until tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

"This isn't funny, he might be trying to suck my blood!"

"But it's hilarious." Daniel wiped his tears. "He sounds really amusing. I can’t believe you haven’t lost it yet."

"Oh, believe me, I’m really close to it." He exhaled and raised a fist into the air. But I won’t lose to him."

"You're kind of cool, you know that?" Daniel's eyes lit up and he clapped loudly, making the cafe workers glare at the two of them. 

Seongwoo turned red and crossed his arms. "E-Eh? Where'd that come from?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onghwang are gonna hate each other for a bit before the love comes in :') The slowburn is strong with this fic.


	9. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo's patience is tested.

There was a knock on Seongwoo's door.

When he opened it, Minhyun brushed past him and eagerly slammed a stack of paperwork on Seongwoo's desk.

 "You wanted to be my assistant right? Then review all of this." Minhyun ordered nonchalantly. "Even though I can't officially work within the company, my father still goes over with me some things and tries to keep me involved. Oh, and here are my taxes. Do it all. I want them all done by tomorrow morning."

Seongwoo just stared as Minhyun left without even a goodbye and slammed the door in his face. 

He couldn't be serious.

The door opened and Minhyun's eye peaked from the crack. "I'm one hundred percent serious."

He shut the door.

A total of five ticks came from the wall clock until Seongwoo released a loud scream.

What the hell was wrong with him?!

 

* * *

 

 

Seongwoo stayed up until five in the morning finishing all of the paperwork, with only the desk lamp and the earbuds plugged in playing chill lo-fi music retaining whatever was left of his sanity. He stopped sneaking glances at the mirror at two am when he saw how messy his hair was from all the scratching, hair pulling and head-banging. Once he was finished with everything he could muster, he swan dived into bed and wrapped himself up in his blanket.

His sleep was cut short by the sound of loud, obnoxious vacuuming. It came directly outside of his door and the sound of the vacuum cleaner banging against his door repeated over and over in an aggressive fashion. He had no idea how long he was out for, but his aching back and heavy eyes gave the impression that he barely got a few hours of sleep in.

He rolled over and fell off the bed, unable to properly stand due to exhaustion. He crawled to the door and used the knob as support to lift him up on his feet. When he twisted the knob and looked outside, he was faced with Jisung who was eagerly vacuuming in the exact same spot.

"Ah, good morning, you're up early!" Jisung smiled innocently.

Was this NORMAL?

Why wouldn't he be?!

He was literally vacuuming in front of his fucking room!?

"Yeah, um, may I ask..." Seongwoo gritted his teeth. "Why are you vacuuming in front of my room....this early in the morning...?"

"Ah, Minhyun ordered me to." Jisung said. "He _specifically_ told me to clean directly in front of your room because he said it was rather dusty."

"Don't you think it's clean by now?"

"Y-Yes, personally, I think that. But Minhyun told me to clean for an hour no matter what."

"I see." Seongwoo tilted his neck to the side and heard a crack. "Well, go on."

Seongwoo slammed the door behind him and stormed over to his desk. He ripped his plan sheet in half, crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the trash bin. 

Be his friend????? How?????? Could anyone possibly even like that piece of shit????

The landline phone that sat on the bedside table begun to ring. Seongwoo had no idea that was even plugged in, let alone worked. He thought it was merely there for decorative purposes. He picked up the phone and pressed it against his ear.

"Um, hello?"

"Ah, Seongwoo! I can't believe you answered, I didn't think you'd be up so soon!"

Seongwoo slammed the phone down the handset and scowled. The phone rang against a couple seconds later and he picked it up again.

"What the fuck do you want?" Seongwoo hissed. 

"I was just calling to check on the status of the paperwork I gave you. I can only expect it was too much work for-"

"I finished it all, made my writing neat and shit, you happy? Now look, you may think that just because I'm bound by some contract means you can troll me by waking me up this early? I'll have you know I value my sleep over specs of dust in front of my door, you clean freak!"

Minhyun whistled on the other line and sighed. "It's too early to be this loud."

"Goodbye."

"No, wait! I'm actually..." Minhyun paused. "Impressed. I purposely gave you more than intended because I didn't think you could handle it."

"Well, no shit. But maybe you shouldn't underestimate me? I do go to Seoul University, you know."

"You? Seoul University?!" 

"Why do you sound so shocked? Is it because I'm not rich?"

"No, it's because you're an idiot."

"Take that back!" 

"I will when you prove me otherwise."

"At least I leave the house. Are you a vampire? Will you burn or have sparkling abs once you step foot in the sun?"

"I do leave the house! A lot, actually!" Minhyun was silent on his line for a couple moments before clearing his throat. His tone changed as he spoke, "I just mean I have no true responsibilities because...I'm nothing to my family."

Seongwoo suddenly thought about Minhyun's father, the CEO. He could not forget the look of genuine concern on his face and his constant struggle to find a way to fix the damage between his family due to his own cowardice. He was not perfect, let alone a good father, but if anything, Seongwoo truly believed that the CEO cared about his son.

"You're wrong." Seongwoo said. "If you meant nothing to your family, then why did your father hire me? He cares about you a lot, actually."

"Don't talk as if you know anything about my family." Minhyun said. "Ah, I just remembered that I also called to give you another task. You know the library down on the first floor? I want you to reorganize all my nonfiction books by dewey decimal system. It's been quite unorganized for the past few years. That's all."

He was left with the dial tone. He placed the phone down and crashed onto his bed and was left with one single thought:

He absolutely hated Hwang Minhyun.

 

* * *

 

 

Giving up wasn't an option for the stubborn Ong Seongwoo. No matter how ridiculous the challenge was, he found himself residing in Minhyun's library for hours. With no window or clock in sight, he had no idea of the time that had passed while he was up on ladders grabbing books from the highest shelves.

Jonghyun visited while Seongwoo was covered in a blanket of paperbacks, questioning both his existence and why Minhyun owned so many books on cleaning. He set down a dinner plate on a table and left, with a fist in the air and a "keep on fighting, Ong Seongwoo!" cheer.

After finishing his meal, he returned to work. He pushed the ladder over to another shelf and climbed up. He took out a handful of books on music and felt his balance waver. He tipped to the side and in a panic, he grabbed at the railing and held on. The books all crashed onto the floor, making a loud bang. Hopefully Minhyun did not hear that.

As he quickly rushed down and picked up the books one by one, he noticed a notebook jammed in between the pages of one classical music book. It was in a rough state, ripped and folded at the edges, the cover faded and the pages crumpled. 

He flipped to a random page and read two lines that were scribbled in the middle of the page.

 

_**Like a lone Jian,** _

_**I can never fly.** _

He flipped to the next page.

 

**_I clipped my horns_ **

**_Hoping I could pass as human_ **

**_But she saw through my heart and said_ **

**_No matter how much you try to change yourself_ **

**_You are still a beast._ **

 

He flipped to the other pages and saw scribbles of broken words and remnants of uncompleted melodies, all that sang a lonely tune. 

Was this how Minhyun saw himself? A flightless bird? A monster?

He couldn't tell if this book was written recently or was only one of many. But he knew he had to return it.

He stepped over the piles of books that were stacked on the floor and headed down the hall. 

He knocked on Minhyun's door with no answer. He checked in the garden, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, the theater, all to no avail. As he wandered aimlessly down an unknown corridor, a captivating melody grabbed his attention. 

As if he was a sailor caught in a storm of sirens, he was instantly drawn by the enchanting music, that seemed to control his feet and lead him over to the source. He turned a corner and saw light coming from one of the rooms down the hall. Once he got closer, he realized it was the forbidden music room. 

He knew that Minhyun ordered him not to go inside. It seemed to be the rule that he was the most serious about. He was also on Minhyun's last nerve, but before he could rationalize with himself, his hand was on the knob and he quietly turned it and peaked inside.

Minhyun sat near the edge of the grand piano, his fingers effortlessly gliding through the keys. His movements were so graceful that it looked like he was performing a dance. His eyes were closed, sweat glistening on his forehead and cheekbones, and at that moment, the unique melody had become one with Seongwoo's racing heart.

Seongwoo was unfamiliar with the song Minhyun was playing. Although he knew it was an original piece, it was still unlike anything he had ever heard before. His piano playing was erratic, unpredictable, and painfully breathtaking. Even without words, the music was able to pull at Seongwoo's deepest strings, putting him face to face with his own inner demons. He was weakened, yet also stronger. He didn't understand it at all. He didn't understand Minhyun, either. But as the boy slammed his fingers on the final note and it slowly came to silence, Seongwoo had a single thought in his mind:

He wanted to understand Hwang Minhyun.

Minhyun wiped his sweat with the back of his sleeve and leaned forward, coughing and wheezing as he caught his breath. When he opened his eyes, he immediately noticed the figure standing in front of the door. His eyes widened in a split second and Seongwoo flinched.

"What are you doing here?" He asked breathlessly, wobbling as he stood up, leaning against the edge of the piano for support. "How long have you been in here?"

Seongwoo gulped. "Probably around three minutes." He took a step back and felt his back hit the wall. "I didn't mean to!"

"Obviously you did if you've been standing there for that long." Minhyun said angrily. He stomped up to Seongwoo, but before he could do anything, Seongwoo threw his hands forward and raised the notebook in Minhyun's face and watched him turn pale.

"I found this while I was reorganizing the library," Seongwoo explained. "It looks like it's pretty personal, so I thought I should give it back to you-"

Minhyun snatched the notebook out of Seongwoo's hands, crumpled it up and walked over to the fireplace. Seongwoo's eyes widened and he rushed out of his place and held Minhyun's arm back with one hand and used the other to hold onto the notebook.

"What are you doing?" Minhyun hissed. "Let go of me!"

"No, you can't." Seongwoo cried out, positioning his legs down so he could hold Minhyun back better.

Minhyun stopped resisting and dropped his hands. The book fell on the floor. Seongwoo stared at it's crumpled pages, but his gaze shifted when he saw Minhyun's fist tighten. He looked up and was welcomed by a broken, pained expression.

"You read it, right?" Minhyun said weakly. "Nothing about the contents of that book is pretty. When I couldn't find it anymore, I assumed someone threw it away. I thought it was gone forever. I want it gone. Why do you wish to keep me from burning it? So you can use it to mock me?"

"No, I would never do that." 

Seongwoo constantly wondered what was it about Minhyun that made him so different from him. Social status and personalities aside, their sufferings and experiences should have made them cut from the same cloth. The CEO himself even thought so. But Seongwoo knew they were different, in a way that he did not understand completely himself.

But through witnessing Minhyun's tragic music and rambles of a broken tale, he came to a conclusion.

Seongwoo rejected his pain.

Minhyun lived in it.

He sucked in his breath and turned to face Minhyun in the eye. 

"You're honest and true to yourself. Despite being ridiculed and rejected by everyone your entire life, you continue to live publicly with this pain of yours. I noticed it immediately when I saw you at the party, but I could really  _see_ it while I witnessed you play and when I read your notebook. That's why I don't want you to burn it. Everything in it... it's all a part of you. Burning it means rejecting that part of you, and...I know better than anyone else, that is how you get burned."

 

* * *

 

After the incident in the music room, Seongwoo left without waiting for a response from Minhyun. He returned to the library and went straight to work. He completely lost track of time once again, but he could tell it was late by the way his body felt heavier and his eyes struggled to stay open. He lay down on the couch and rested his head comfortably on the pillow, letting his eyes shut and fell asleep.

He woke up to someone shaking his arm.

He groaned. "Five more minutes."

Another shake.

He whined and opened one eye. Minhyun was dangerously close to him.

Seongwoo gasped and let out a loud scream from shock. He threw his head up and bashed against Minhyun's forehead. Minhyun yelled in pain and stumbled onto the floor. 

"Holy crap, ever heard of personal space?" Seongwoo rubbed his forehead. 

"I could sue you for hitting my head like that!" Minhyun pouted.

He sat crossed legged on the floor, surrounded by stacks of books. He was in pajamas, which according to rich people, consisted of matching tops and bottoms made of silk, velvet robes and fuzzy slippers. It was still weird seeing such an uptight, annoying guy in such a...soft way. 

"Jesus, what time is it?" Seongwoo sighed.

"Four am."

"Four am!"

"Yeah. Why are you so shocked?"

"Why are you so  _dense_?!" Seongwoo gritted his teeth. "What's so important you have to wake me up at a time like this?"

Minhyun looked to the side, lightly scratching the side of his head. 

"Mrhmmm... You.....'Sic." He cleared his throat, muttering his words so quietly that Seongwoo couldn't comprehend anything. 

"Uh, excuse me?"

He looked so damn awkward. 

"What...did you think...of my...s-song..." Minhyun looked constipated as he forced the words out of his mouth. Seongwoo bit the inside of his lip to hold himself back from bursting out in laughter. 

"You woke me up just to find out about my opinion?" Seongwoo giggled, pressing his hand against his mouth. 

"Shut up!" Minhyun's cheeks were tinted red. "Just...just tell me already."

Seongwoo sat up and crossed his arms. "I thought it was beautiful."

Minhyun's eyes widened, breath hitched, and his movements almost stopped completely.

"I'm not just saying that to be nice," Seongwoo continued. "I've never heard anything like it before. Your music was enchanting and I was completely hypnotized. There weren't even any lyrics, but I could literally  _feel_ your pain. Seriously, Minhyun, it was incredible."

Minhyun slouched and fidgeted with his fingers. "I messed up a couple times. It's incomplete. There are too many flaws."

"Yeah, but It was so raw and genuine, and you don't hear that kind of music every day." Seongwoo argued. 

Minhyun made an awkward face and turned his entire body to the side to avoid looking at Seongwoo in the eye. 

Just accept the compliment, dumbass!

Minhyun looked down at one of the books lying next to him and picked it up.

"Ah, I know that's a fictional children book, but I just couldn't believe you owned it!" 

It was a book about a boy who travels the world alone to find the greatest treasure. Along the way he makes friends and realizes the journey was more valuable than the treasure itself.

Minhyun held the book in his arms. "This was my favorite book as a kid."

Seongwoo's mouth stretched into a grin and he leaped off the couch. He crawled over to Minhyun's side, eyes glistening. "Seriously?! Same here!"

Minhyun gulped as he looked down at Seongwoo who beamed up happily at him. "You don't seem like the book type."

Seongwoo laughed. "Oh, I'm not. I'm definitely a movies over books type of person and I honestly haven't read a book that wasn't a part of a school assignment in ages." His laugh was cut off as memories of the past came into focus in his frame of recollection. "But when I was a kid, my dad always made me read because he wanted me to be smart. We went to the library like everyday, it was annoying..." He chuckled sadly, and his chest tightened. "You see...My dad never finished high school. He wanted me to be bright and go to college. This was his favorite book that he picked out for me."

Minhyun's body loosened up as Seongwoo spoke and they sat close to one another, bodies warming up through each other's heat. Softly, he asked, "What does your father do now?"

And just like that, Seongwoo's heart dropped. Time never made it easier for him to talk about his father, and if anything, it only deepened the wound. He could not explain it, but for some reason, as he shared this intimate moment with Minhyun, he was willing to endure the pain.

"Nothing." 

One word was all it took, and Seongwoo could tell that Minhyun understood completely.

"Nine years ago, he died in an accident. I'm sorry - I lied about just being in the area when I saw you pass out. Actually, it was the anniversary of my father's death. I went there to visit him. And the reason why I was all beat up is because I got involved with a bad group of people. They broke the last thing I had left of my father." 

He looked at his open palm and forced a fist, grasping the emptiness and remembering the coldness of the rusty whistle that was once always with him.

Minhyun chuckled sadly and stared up at the ceiling. "So we both have dead parents? And to think they both died on the same day... I wonder if this is the universe's way of reminding us of our suffering."

Seongwoo laughed softly. "Maybe."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." Minhyun suddenly apologized.

An apology was the last thing Seongwoo expected to come out of Minhyun's mouth. He smiled and nudged Minhyun's side with his elbow.

"Would you look at that? Hwang Minhyun can  _actually_ look apologetic." He marveled and faked a smile with a thumbs up in the air. "Don't worry about me. I'm just fine."

As Seongwoo waved his hand in the air, Minhyun stared intensely at Seongwoo's wrist where he wore his bracelet. He suddenly grabbed it tightly and tugged his wrist closer to his eye level.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Seongwoo winced, but Minhyun seemed to be caught in a trance. He yanked his arm back. "Minhyun, that hurts!"

Minhyun looked at Seongwoo and immediately loosed his grip. "This...Why do you...?"

"Huh, this? I got it as a gift when I was a kid. I found this lost kid on the street and helped him found his mom. It was so long ago, so I don't remember what either of them looked like, but it was an interesting day, that's for sure. I don't know why I still have it, but I guess I've gotten used to it."

He wasn't sure why Minhyun was so curious and cared so much. Minhyun let go off his wrist and Seongwoo frowned at the red mark that started to appear on his skin. Minhyun suddenly placed his hand over Seongwoo's wrist again and latched onto it softly. Seongwoo looked up and saw a softened, melancholy look in his eyes. 

In this moment, Minhyun was completely vulnerable. His touch was soft and warm, and although Seongwoo was terrible with skinship, he was alright with Minhyun touching him.

"Do you hate it that much?" Seongwoo asked. "I mean, I can take it off..."

"No!" Minhyun cried loudly, startling both of him. He softened his posture and sighed. "Don't take it off. Please. It's perfectly fine to me."

Minhyun was seriously weird.

"Uh, okay..." He shrugged. "Kind of has an antique look to it, eh? I mean, I still like the way it looks."

Minhyun smiled. "I like it too."

Two things: Did Minhyun just compliment him? Technically, it _was_ towards the bracelet and not directly at Seongwoo, but it was still...weird. And Minhyun...actually formed a genuine smile. It was a new side of him that Seongwoo felt almost lucky to see. 

Minhyun flipped through the pages of the book they both equally shared love for, and Seongwoo sat in silence watching over Minhyun as he pointed at his favorite passages. Their bodies were close and arms brushed one another, but Seongwoo did not hate it.

Besides, Minhyun smelled kind of good.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Jian' is a Chinese mythological one-eyed bird with one wing. Alone, the bird can't fly so it must depend on another bird, representing "soulmates".


	10. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo is curious about love.

Over the course of the week, Seongwoo learned a couple things about Minhyun.

He was homeschooled his entire life and was a natural genius, graduating early when he was 15 years old. He graduated at Seoul University with a business degree when he was 20. 

He could play the piano, the guitar, the flute, the violin, the harp and the drums. His favorite instrument was the piano. According to Jonghyun, he could sing really well too, but he wasn't keen on letting Seongwoo listen.

Ever since Seongwoo interrupted Minhyun's music session, they've developed an odd relationship and a new set of rules. 

Seongwoo was allowed to sit in the music room as long as Minhyun was present. He could sit anywhere he wanted to and listen to Minhyun play and work on his music as long as he wasn't a nuisance or loud.

He wasn't the kind of person who could sit in one place for a long time. He wasn't a natural born genius and truly had to push himself to get where he was today. It was difficult because his mind often wandered off to grand, imaginative places, and he always found himself yearning to be somewhere else. But as he watched Minhyun played his new set for the first time, he didn't want to be anywhere else. 

Minhyun took his hands off the keys and stopped playing for a moment to catch his breath. He looked behind his shoulder. 

"How was it?" He asked, brows raised and eyes wide.

Although Seongwoo could never admit it out loud, it made him happy that Minhyun cared about his opinion so much.  

"It was-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Ah, I hope I'm not interrupting anything!" Jonghyun's voice came from the other side of the door. "But Haesoo is here. She's in the living room."

"Tell her to leave-" Minhyun started.

"We'll be up in a second." Seongwoo broke in, much to the annoyance of Minhyun who was glaring at him. "You need to stop being so antisocial! Besides, I want to see her too. We got along pretty well at the party, you know?"

"Good for you," Minhyun grumbled, standing up. "But it's not that I'm being antisocial. She's just a pain in the ass to handle."

"And I'm  _not?_ " Seongwoo smirked as they made their way out into the hallway.

Minhyun took a step forward and scanned Seongwoo from head to toe, eyes burrowed. "You're-"

"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINHYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

Mid sentence, Minhyun was tackled onto the ground by an overbearing Haesoo in one swift motion, while Seongwoo could only stare in shock. Her laugh echoed down the hallway and her smiled beamed as she stared down at Minhyun who lay below her.

"I missed you so much! How have you been? You look like you've lost some weight. You need to eat more, I can't have you getting sick on me! What? Do you have something to say to me?"

"Can't...Breathe...You're...On...Lungs..." 

"Oh, am I?" She laughed and got off of him. She noticed Seongwoo standing in the corner and her smile grew wider. She ran over and embraced him tightly. "Seongwoo!"

"It's been awhile." Seongwoo chuckled. "You seem bright as ever."

"How could I not be? It's my first day in ages without a schedule, the weather is lovely, and I get to see my favorite person." Her eyes pointed to Minhyun, who grudgingly stood up and wiped the dust off his pants. "When I heard the news that you had become a member of Minhyun's servant team, I was ecstatic. You were so kind to me at the party and I didn't want that to be our one and only encounter together. But it looks like fate has something else planned, eh?"

"I guess so." 

Haesoo latched onto Minhyun's arm and held him closely to her. "Let's go upstairs for lunch. I want to greet the others."

"Could you let go of me?" Minhyun groaned.

"Ah, Aron, is that you!" She squealed. She darted down the hallway, tugging Minhyun against his will.

Seongwoo stifled a laugh as he watched Minhyun fall victim to her antics. He followed the pair upstairs and noticed the sudden change in atmosphere. All of the servants rushed to the living room to greet Haesoo eagerly, their faces beaming with joy and welcomed her in with open arms. She was engaging and full of life as she spoke to each person in the room. 

Out of all the servants, she was particular close to Jonghyun. She shared almost as much skinship with him as she did with Minhyun. The more Seongwoo thought about it, the more he noticed the interesting dynamic the three of them shared. The servants were all rather casual to Minhyun despite him being the head of the household, but Minhyun and Jonghyun spoke to one another on a non-formal, very friendly basis. It didn't take rocket science to tell that they had history. 

"Oh, I just remembered!" Haesoo reached into her purse and took out a plastic container of heart shaped cookies with pink sugar coating the top. "I made these for you, my love!"

"I refuse to eat any of that." Minhyun gagged. He covered his mouth and turned away.

"Don't be so rude!" Seongwoo stepped forward. "These look great. I'll have one if you don't mind."

"Of course you can!" 

She removed the lid and he reached inside to grab a cookie. He shoved the entire cookie in his mouth and instantly, his taste buds cried in agony. Dongho was already prepared with a glass of water and Seongwoo snatched it out of his hands and chugged the entire glass down.

He coughed and with every breath he could still taste the disgusting remains of the cookie. He looked around and saw sympathetic stares around him.

"How was it?" She asked, completely clueless.

"I forgot to mention to you that Haesoo is a terrible cook," Jonghyun said. "It runs in her family which is why they all have prestigious chefs. Sometimes it's less about the fortune and more about the safety."

"Apparently Gordon Ramsay begged them never to step into a kitchen." Sungwoon said.

"With tears in his eyes." Jaehwan added.

"You're too harsh, Jonghyun!" Haesoo whined, kicking her feet up and down on the couch. 

"I'm getting a headache." Minhyun pressed his fingers against his temple and sighed loudly. "I'm going to the music room. No one bother me." As Haesoo prepared to stand, Minhyun pointed at her. "Especially you."

Minhyun stormed upstairs, leaving an awkward atmosphere around him. Haesoo broke into a soft giggle to lighten the mood and shrugged.

"He's just playing hard to get." She assured. 

"So what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Jonghyun asked.

"Well, I was just planning on staying here until the evening." She said. "Even if Minhyun wants to spend some alone time, I can still entertain myself here." Her eyes shifted to Seongwoo. "I think I'd like to take a walk in the garden. Care to join me, Seongwoo? We have a lot to catch up on."

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo and Haesoo strolled across a wooden bridge surrounded by foliages, over a small pond with lily pads floating overtop. He held a white parasol leaning towards Haesoo to shield her from the blazing rays, as "a model had to protect her appearance at all times." She hummed a tune softly as they made their way down the path, surrounded by fields of hydrangeas and peonies. 

"I want to thank you for keeping your promise not to tell anyone about Minhyuk." Haesoo said. 

"How is he doing?" Seongwoo asked. "I won't break my promise, but... what he's going through is  _serious_. I really hate turning a blind eye when he should be getting help."

"Trust me, I've been trying." 

"And how has that been working out for you?"

She paused. "I think I'll reach him soon. Even though I despise him...I don't want to lose him to this addiction."

They made their way to a gazebo. Haesoo walked up the small staircase and sat down on the chairs centered in the middle. Seongwoo closed the umbrella and leaned against the railing and watched the wind made the flowers around them dance.

He lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the sun and squinted as he looked up at the window where the music room lay on the other side. 

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"Why do you like Minhyun so much?" It took a moment for Seongwoo to realize the severity of his choice of his words and his face burned red from embarrassment. "I don't mean it in a bad way! I guess I just...I don't really know him too well...or maybe it's because of what I've seen of him so far and..uh... I guess I just don't understand. Sorry. That probably came off really offensive." 

Simply, Seongwoo didn't understand why Haesoo was so loving and affectionate to Minhyun when in turn, he only returned her love with coldness and rejection.  

Haesoo tilted her head to the side with a smile. "Have you ever been in love?"

"Never." 

"Well, they say love makes you blind." Haesoo patted on the chair next to her. "Want to hear about the first time I met Minhyun?"

Curious, he sat down, one leg crossed over the other, and ears wide open.

"As you are aware, the Hanjin Group and JK Group have strong ties to one another. It's been that way for a while, even before you and I were born. I spent a lot of time with Minhyuk growing up, but I was never allowed to meet Minhyun. Mother and father said he would taint my image. He didn't even live in the same house as the rest of his family. I had heard a lot of stories about him. That he was the son of the CEO's old nurse, that he shared his mother's eyes, and that he was my age."

She continued. "He used to live in the outskirts of the city, in a smaller house with his mother. I was so curious that one day, I bribed a servant to drive me there. I snuck into his estate by climbing over the fence. His back door had glass walls and from the other side I could see his piano. That day I snuck in, it was when I saw him play the piano for the first time. Instantly, I was drawn."

Seongwoo was also drawn by Minhyun's piano playing. Or more so, how vulnerable yet so alive he felt when he witnessed Minhyun play.

"I was so in awe that I fell off the fence and bruised my knee. I told my mom later that day that I  _tripped_ and she yelled at me because I had a photoshoot the next day - she was so pissed!' She snorted. "Anyways, Minhyun saw me and ran over. He was confused, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't get guests often, but he welcomed me in with open, kind arms. I think I fell in love at that moment. His mother was cautious about letting me visit. Jonghyun's father was their butler and Jonghyun lived there as well, and he convinced her to let me visit. The more time I spent with Minhyun, the more I fell for him."

She smiled sadly. "He was a different person back then. He was always trying to make everyone smile, especially his mother. He'd play the piano and joke around so there was never a dull, silent moment. The three of us would go around the house and garden and go on adventures! Minhyun was always the prince, Jonghyun the knight and of course, me as the princess. We called ourselves the wonder trio; it was so silly."

Seongwoo couldn't help but smile at that.

"And Minhyun, back then... It was as if he wasn't even the slightest bit phased by all the cruel words he was called and the fact that he and his mother were secluded from the rest of the world. Even back then, I was very clingy and obvious about my love for him. He got flustered and embarrassed easily, but he never rejected it. I knew that my parents were arranging for me to get married with Minhyuk, but I only wished to be with Minhyun. I was willing to go against everything for him."

She was prepared to go that far?

That terrified Seongwoo.

To risk so much for one person who may not even share the same feelings...

...And even if they did, was love worth it all? 

"When we were eleven, my parents decided to send me abroad for school. They wanted me to learn English and be more involved with the foreign modeling industry. As you can see, I still model. And I'll admit, I don't hate it. I'm pretty, good at my job, popular with the public... but... I still want to escape sometimes. Maybe that is why I loved roleplays where Minhyun saved me, the princess, from her cage and helped spread my wings."

She sighed. "So guess what I did when I told Minhyun that I was moving? I asked him to run away with me!" She sunk in her seat and lifted her hand to the sky, looking at her fingertips as if she was staring off into another plane of existence. "Of course he laughed it off, thought I was joking. He couldn't leave his mother, after all. But I was completely serious. I told him that we could take her mother too, change our names, move to another country, and then we'd be free. From my destiny, from his, from everything. It didn't have to be anywhere fancy or special. I didn't need an expensive lifestyle, I just needed him."

"What did he say?" 

"He said I was crazy. We were eleven, of course it was insane!" She rolled her eyes. "But then he looked at me in the eye and said: If you're really serious, then wait until we're adults. Then I'll marry you, and then I'll go with your crazy plan."

Seongwoo's eyes widened. He didn't think Minhyun had the guts in him to say something as intense as a declaration of marriage, even if they were just kids at the time. But he looked at Haesoo, who was now an adult, and his heart sank.

"So I moved to the states, stared at my ring finger everyday with my hopes raised to the sky, and..." She dropped her hand down on the table and curled it into a fist. "Then I learned that life takes more than it gives."

Seongwoo thought back to Minhyun who stood in front of his mother's grave while the skies mourned and the universe laughed.

"When Minhyun's mother died, it was like a part of him died too because he was never the same after." She said. "He shut everyone away. Moved into a new house and brushed off our promise like a childish dream. Maybe it was, but to me, it was everything. And maybe I'm selfish, but when the person who's holding you together is the one who falls apart first..."

She pressed her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this conversation to get so dark."

"No, no, don't apologize." Seongwoo nervously threw his hands up in the air. "I...I really appreciate that you're willing to open up to me like that. I think I understand a bit more now, and I think that this has helped me understand Minhyun a bit better too. So, thank you."

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back and instead smiled widely. "Alright! Let's go back on a happier note! I have _so_ many childhood stories to tell you about."

The two of them spent the remaining hours of the afternoon sitting underneath the gazebo, with Seongwoo listening intently as Haesoo spoke. 

She told him about how Minhyun was a crybaby and that only Jonghyun could make him stop crying. If anything, Jonghyun played the leader role a lot better than Minhyun.

She told him that even back then, Minhyun was incredibly tidy. If she did not remove her shoes within a second of her entrance, he would lose it. She was constantly scolded when she did not finish her food or clean up after herself. And even though they had Jonghyun's father to do all the chores, Minhyun was always so keen on helping out. 

Her eyes gleamed as she reminisced of the past, intriguing Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo never really understood love. Frankly, he was never interested enough to really think about it.

At the very least, he understood that familial love, friendship love, sexual love and romantic love were all different. Sometimes they connected. 

He was familiar with how much he loved his father and his aunt, and how much he loved Woojin and Jihoon like brothers, although he'd never admit that to them out loud out of embarrassment.

He never knew his mother, but perhaps he would have loved her too. 

On the streets, at school, on all forms of fiction and nonfiction and even in music, he was surrounded by different forms of love. 

But this was the first time he had ever seen someone so bashfully and wholeheartedly in love before. Unlike when he saw couples kiss or hold hands in public, he didn't exactly feel uncomfortable or annoyed. As he listened to her speak, he couldn't help but wonder... Maybe love was what it would take for Minhyun to heal.

He was hired to be Minhyun's friend, with the intention of helping him open up and heal. 

A crazy idea sprung to mind.

"Hey." Seongwoo suddenly cut her off. "What if I offered to be your wingman?"

"Huh?" 

"I mean, I've never down this before, and I'm probably the worst person to turn to when it comes to anything romance, but..." Seongwoo cleared his throat. "Maybe I can help you and Minhyun get together."

"I mean, that's an awfully nice offer, but..." Haesoo pressed her lips into a thin line. "I know I flirt with Minhyun to no end and joke that I'm his fiancé. But I do it because it's how I've always been, and even if he wants nothing to do with me, I want to pretend things aren't different. But even I know the truth: we're adults now, he's thrown our promise away, and I'm properly engaged to Minhyuk. Nothing can change our fate."

"But what if I said you could?" 

Her eyebrows burrowed and she leaned closer. "What do you mean?"

Seongwoo gulped. He hoped what he was about to say wasn't against the contract.

It probably was, but...fuck it.

"Minhyun's father, CEO Hwang... He has a plan to get Minhyun to be the future heir to the Hanjin Group." Seongwoo explained. "That's why I was hired. But if Minhyun doesn't open up to others and heal from his past, then nothing will change. So as crazy as a plan as this is, I think if he falls for you, then it'll help him. You said love makes you blind, but maybe it could save him too."

He raised his pinky. "We can think about all the finer details like your family and Minhyuk later. I just want to try this."

After a moment of hesitation, she entwined her pinky with his. 

"It's worth a shot."

 

* * *

 

The next day, after Seongwoo finished up with a lecture, he accompanied Daniel to a cat cafe. His friend frequented these often, despite having two cats at home. But Seongwoo wasn't stupid to miss out on an opportunity to lie on bean bag chairs, drink coffee and pet cats that swarmed the area.

Surrounding the cafe were shelves of manga. Out of curiosity, while Daniel was in the middle of kissing the chubbiest cat, Seongwoo grabbed a book and sat back down. He didn't read manga often, but he was oddly intrigued by the story. It did have well fight scenes, interesting characters and...

He held his breath as he read the next line.

_Alexander, we can't... It's forbidden... two men._

_I can't control how I feel...I'm madly in love with you, Leonardo..._

Seongwoo quickly flipped to the next page and choked on his spit at the intensity of the scene. His eyes twitched and his ears burned red as the scene grew more sexual. 

"So...T-That's how it goes in for guys?"

"I didn't think you were into those kind of books, Ong."

Seongwoo let out a wild screech, and in turn he received an angry glare from a couple of people sitting in the cafe. He glared at Daniel and threw the book at his face. "I'm  _not!_ I didn't know it was a BL manga!"

"Hey, I'm not judging you." Daniel shrugged while caressing the back of a black cat. "You do you, man. Or...do men?"

Seongwoo rolled his eyes. He stared at the cover of the book again. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever been in love before?"

"Hmm... Maybe." Daniel shrugged. "I mean, there have been times where I really really liked being with the person I was dating, but I don't know if I can tell the difference between like and love."

"Is it not obvious?"

"I think it should be, so I guess the answer to your question is no." 

"Well, how do you know?"

Daniel put the cat that sat on his lap down and took out his phone from his jacket pocket. He started to text something and then flipped his phone around. It was a Facetime screen with Haesoo's name on top.

"Why are you getting her involved now?!"

"Well, she's been in love with Minhyun her entire life. I'm no love expert, but she should be able to give you a better answer." 

They turned to Daniel's phone screen when Haesoo's face popped up. She had a face mask on.

"I'm in my dressing room for a CF, what's up?" 

"Seongwoo is reading Yaoi and won't stop bugging me about my love life." Daniel said.

She gasped. "Seongwoo, are you in love with Daniel?"

"What?? No!" Seongwoo raised his voice and in turn received a loud shush from the barista at the front of the cafe. 

"Well, then who has stolen your heart? Is it me?" She pried. 

"No! God, it's no one!" He groaned. "I...I just want to know how you know if you're in love."

Haesoo placed her phone so Seongwoo and Daniel could see her bust level. She took off her facemask, clapped her hands together and cleared her throat.

"We'll do this in a scenario. Pretend you're me, and you feel everything I do towards Minhyun."

"O-Ok?" He raised a brow. 

"Now let me ask you this question: Are you okay with Minhyun falling in love with someone else? Even if you don't make a move, the world will go on. Eventually, Minhyun will find someone else that he truly loves. That person will be able to hold him, laugh with him, kiss him, make him feel good, and see sides of him that no one else but that person can see. Picture him in love, and take yourself out of the picture. Now tell me... Are you okay with that?"

Seongwoo tried his best to view this through Haesoo's perspective.

It was difficult, though, because it was _impossible_ for him to fall in love with Minhyun.

"That kind of perspective is what made me realize I am still in love with him." She said. "I want to be with him and only him. Just the thought of Minhyun loving someone else is so painful that it feels like I'm about to die. Get it now?"

"Good grief!" Seongwoo said, appalled. "Love sounds...painful. Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Oh, young Ong." Daniel squeezed his shoulder. "My little virgin friend."

"Shut up!" Seongwoo slapped his hand off. 

"Once you experience your first love, you'll understand. As painful as it is, you don't want to lose that feeling. I wouldn't trade my love for Minhyun for the world."  She said. "Well, I have to get my makeup done. I hope I helped in the slightest. See you!"

She hung up.

"Eh, what'd I say?" Daniel grinned. "Totally more helpful than me."

Daniel returned to playing around with the cats while Seongwoo found himself pondering over her words. 

He still didn't really understand love, but he did understand that it was complicated, messy and sometimes painful. He decided not to worry too much about it. Besides, he didn't have time to go looking for love.

Especially since Haesoo spoke about Seongwoo experiencing his first love as if it was something he could easily find right in front of him.


	11. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo protects Minhyun.

Seongwoo visited his aunt the day after her surgery. He didn't exactly leave her on a good note the last time he saw her, but her eyes softened when he walked into the room. He walked closer to her and took her hand. Still weak, she managed a smile and squeezed his fingertips, and he knew they would be okay.

He brought a chair over to sit and told her everything that occurred to him thus far.

He confessed that he became a personal servant to Hwang Minhyun, who was excluded from the Hanjin Group because he was the illegitimate son of the CEO and his old nurse. Minhyun also lost his mother the same age Seongwoo lost his father. He was under a strict contract with the CEO of the Hanjin Group for six months, and in return for helping Minhyun, he would receive a high pay and money for his aunt's medical expenses. 

He told her about how he moved into Minhyun's  gigantic estate, which was beautiful inside and out, but everything looked so expensive he constantly lived in fear of breaking something. 

He told her about how incredible the food was, but Minhyun refused to eat any of it. Once he brought up the food, he found himself rambling about the guy. How he was irritating, a complete troll, terribly neat, didn't play well with others, and played the piano beautifully. 

"But yeah, after the whole music room incident, he lets me sit down and listen to him play." Seongwoo said. "Seriously, I wish you could come and listen to him. It's life-changing."

"How long are you going to live in that house for?" His aunt suddenly spoke up for the first time.

"Huh? Six months, I told you this." Seongwoo said. "Anyways, there was this one song he played and-"

"I pray that these six months go by fast." His aunt said. "I don't trust him. He seems complicated, damaged...and you shouldn't trust him either."

Seongwoo sighed and smiled softly. "Thank you for worrying, but you should just focus on getting better. Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless. Besides, I can handle anything that comes my way."

 

* * *

 

For some reason, Seongwoo could not shake off his aunt's words. 

He sat in the library with his laptop in front of him as he typed out his research paper. 

Across from him was Daniel, whose forehead was against the table as he snored softly. To be honest, Seongwoo wasn't sure why he always tagged along. 

Seongwoo stared at Daniel and poked the top of his head with the end of his pen. "Hey, wake up dumbass."

"Who you calling dumbass, jackass?" Daniel muttered, rubbing his eyes as he looked up. 

"What do you know about the Hanjin Group?" Seongwoo asked.

"Why can't you just google them?" Daniel groaned.

"Because you're my inside source!" Seongwoo argued. "Pleaaaaase."

"I don't know why you're so curious, but fine." Daniel stretched his arms up in the air. "They're a family who were always known as poised, elegant and pure. Oh, and rich as fuck. But then they had their entire image tarnished because of Minhyun."

" _Minhyun?"_ Seongwoo repeated. "Why? Just because he's the illegitimate son? Shouldn't the CEO be held accountable for that?"

"It's not like the media and our families give a crap about that. And to Minhyun's step mother, he is a curse -  _a constant reminder of her mistakes_  - that she has to live with forever." Daniel said. "The only reason why Minhyun hasn't been removed from the family entirely is because of his father, who still protects him. Although he is the CEO, many call his wife the shadow queen because she is the one who makes the most decisions in the company."

Seongwoo sank in his seat. "Well, shit."

"Yeah," Daniel breathed. "I kind of pity Minhyun, honestly. There isn't really anything he can do about it. His step mother won't give him any positions and he isn't allowed to work anywhere else because of his family name. He has money but what good does that make when you're still locked in a cage and judged everywhere you go?"

 _And when Minhyun's father dies, his step mother won't hesitate to get rid of him,_ Seongwoo thought. 

"I met Minhyun a couple of times when we were kids. My dad, owning an entertainment company and all, had a soft side for him because of his natural talent for music." Daniel pondered aloud.  "He said that if it wasn't for his step-mother, he would have scouted Minhyun. Can you imagine Minhyun as an idol? Or maybe in a band, because he plays a bunch of instruments."

Daniel laughed it off jokingly, but Seongwoo could see it perfectly. He imagined all the things Minhyun could have been if his step-mother wasn't holding him back. 

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo returned to Minhyun's estate in the afternoon. While walking down the halls, he saw Minhyun standing out in the garden by himself. Curious as to what he was doing, Seongwoo hopped down the staircase and walked up to Minhyun, who stared at his reflection in a pond.

"What are you doing?" Seongwoo asked, peeking over to stare at his own reflection.

Minhyun, gaze locked, shrugged. "My old house used to have a pond like this, except there were ducks in it. I guess I was just thinking about the past." He frowned. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, though."

"Just call me your shrink. Doctor Ong."

"I'm never going to call you that."

"You're no fun." 

"I'm plenty fun, you just can't see it."

Minhyun wandered further down the garden, while Seongwoo kneeled down to get a closer look at his reflection in the water. He suddenly thought about his conversation with Daniel and wondered truly how terrible his step-mother really was.

He never got to know his own mother as she died when he was still a baby. When he was growing up, he was never jealous of kids who had mothers because his father did a good job at filling in both parts so that Seongwoo would never feel half-empty.

But when he lost his father, he started to wonder what would life be like if he grew up with his mom. 

He never asked his aunt about his mom, but he recalled a time where she mentioned that his father loved her so, so much. He could never date again because no one could fill in that void. 

Seongwoo assumed that because his father loved her so much she must have been an amazing woman and that alone was enough for him to decide that if he had known his mother, he would have loved her a lot as well. 

A sudden wave of murmuring voices and the sound of a car moving forward from nearby caught him off guard. He stood up and quietly opened the fence door. Pressing his back against the wall, he shuffled until he was near the front of the mansion, and peaked at what was going on. 

A couple of servants, Jonghyun included, stood in front of a limoscene. Jonghyun opened the door and the servants all bowed in a straight line in unison. The woman who exited the vehicle was someone Seongwoo quickly became familiar with - Hwang Yewon, Minhyun's step-mother.

Daniel's words echoed in the back of his mind.

_"...many call his wife the shadow queen because she is the one who makes the most decisions in the company."  
_

A rush of anxiety chorused Seongwoo's body. He wasn't aware that she was visiting.

He should have been made aware of her presence, right?

He should have been standing with the rest of the servants greeting her.

But he wasn't. 

And what of Minhyun? Judging by the way he aimlessly wandered down the garden, with no apparent plans for the rest of the day, it was safe to assume that he wasn't aware that his step-mother was so close.

Seongwoo was afraid of Yewon and what she was capable of. He could not forget the sheer terror in Minhyuk's eyes, as if a lone rabbit was stuck in a cage with a starving lion. 

"Where is Minhyun?" He overheard Yewon ask.

Seongwoo, his hands clamming with anxiety, could not think straight. Thus, he came to the decision  _not_ to think and to just follow what his instincts were telling him to do. He broke into a sprint down the garden paths, leaping over the bridge and ran, ran and ran until he saw the silhouette of Minhyun, whose eyes were closed and chin was raised to the sky, as he took in the refreshing summer breeze.

He grabbed onto Minhyun's wrist and tugged him forward.

"Minhyun, we have to go."

"Excuse me?" Minhyun blinked, shifting his gaze to Seongwoo's hand that held tightly onto his wrist. "What's going on?"

"This isn't the time to ask questions," Seongwoo snapped. "Come on. There's a back entrance, we're going out for the day."

Minhyun yanked his hand away as Seongwoo tried to drag him forward. "No, you can't tell me what to do!"

Seongwoo rolled his eyes. He pointed at the garbage can that stood a meter away from them. "I'm going to kick this down if you don't leave with me right now."

Minhyun turned pale. "You wouldn't  _dare._ "

Seongwoo stepped forward, brought his knee back and kicked the trash can down. "I'm going to kick the others if we don't leave right now."

"F-Fine, you demon!" Minhyun broke into a nervous sweat.

Seongwoo smiled. He took his hand and they ran off. 

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo regretted not thinking his plan through. Without a car in their disposal, they were forced to take the bus. It was not an issue for Seongwoo, who was used to public transportation, but it did not occur to him that Minhyun had never stepped inside a bus until the day of. 

It was challenging enough to get him to merely stand at the bus stop, but once the bus arrived and Seongwoo pushed Minhyun inside, the real challenge begun. The bus was packed with passengers and the pair was forced to use the straps hung up on the top of the bus.

Minhyun stood with his legs spread far apart and both hands on two different straps. His cheeks were puffed and eyes shook as he intensely focused on keeping his balance.

"H-How the hell are you standing so still?" Minhyun asked. "Is this your idea of fun?"

"Quiet down, you're making a fuss." Seongwoo hissed. 

It felt like he was babysitting a child. In a way, he  _was._

"Ah, this is our stop." 

Seongwoo pressed the button that cued the driver that someone was getting off. He grabbed Minhyun by the sleeve of his shirt and guided him to the back exit of the bus. Minhyun released a loud gasp of air once they stepped into the sunlight and sighed loudly. 

"That was the worst experience of my life." Minhyun looked up and down the street in confusion. "Where are we?"

Seongwoo smiled as he opened both doors of the building in front of them. "An arcade!" He said cheerfully, his voice drowning in sound effects of laser beams, background music and squealing kids. They were definitely amongst the oldest people in the arcade, as the atmosphere was a mixture of children and teenagers. 

"A  _what_?"

"You are so  _uncultured,_ Hwang Minhyun." Seongwoo took a grand step in front of Minhyun, placed his hands over his hips and crossed his arms. "Today, I'm going to teach you how to have fun. We're going to play every game in his arcade until our arms and legs fall off."

"That's  _fun_ to you?!"

"But before we get to these measly games, we're going straight to my favorite, c'mon." He waved and sped past a walkway of pinball machines, Dance Dance Revolution, slot machines, and the dreaded crane machine.

At the end of the hallway stood an arcade employee behind a desk. Next to him was a sign that read  ** _VR ROOM._**

"I'd like to purchase a session for two."

The employee, who seemed to be in the middle of trying to nap during their shift, nodded grudgingly. "That'll be thirty dollars."

Seongwoo turned to Minhyun. "Psst. I need your wallet."

Minhyun made an ugly face. "You're making  _me_ pay?"

"You're the one with the money."

Minhyun rolled his eyes. He stomped to the front and took out his wallet. He slapped a couple of bills in the palm of the employee, and the increased amount that appeared in his grasp seemed to wake him up. "Keep the change."

"T-Thank you!" The employee gasp, eyes twinkling with desire. "Please, spend as much there as you'd like!"

Seongwoo smiled and opened the door. The inside of the room was dark, with a couch, a large screen that took up an entire wall, a small table with controllers and two headsets hung on the wall. He took out the first headset and walked over to Minhyun, who seemed extremely uncomfortable over the atmosphere of the room.

"I feel like you're about to kill me in here." He muttered.

"Bend your head a little." Seongwoo said. 

He strapped the headset onto Minhyun, his fingers pressed against the sides of his head, feeling the softness of his hair. He was surprised that despite Minhyun's constant remarks, he wasn't putting up much of a fight and let Seongwoo stand this close to him.

His eyes wandered to Minhyun's delicate facial features, noting at the plumpness of his pink lips, swollen cheekbones and soft skin. His narrow eyes and thin lashes batted as he looked at the ground, and for a moment, Seongwoo lost himself in Minhyun's scent.

"Well, are you done?" 

Seongwoo cleared his throat and stepped back. 

What the hell was  _that?_

He shook his head clear of confusing thoughts and put a headset on. 

They sat down on the couch and picked up a controller. He scrolled down the list of game options and picked a classic, a Jurassic Park game where the objective was to find the exit without getting caught by the T-Rex. One player played the T-Rex while the other person played the escapee. 

Seongwoo played this game over a dozen times with Daniel and considered himself a master of the game. He volunteered to play as the T-Rex.

In the mind of the dinosaur, he chased after Minhyun in the forest, destroying the trees and scaring off the animals in the area. Minhyun screamed loudly in absolute horror, his character easily tripping over rocks and slipping into the riverbanks. 

At one point, Minhyun begun to get the hang of the basics of the game and his character was hidden from the map.  Seongwoo, however, knew all the tricks of the game. As the T-Rex, he snuck up from behind and pressed  **A** on the controller, allowing his character to munch Minhyun's character up.

Minhyun shrieked loudly. His entire body crashed onto Seongwoo's side.

**_!! PLAYER 1 IS THE WINNER !!_ **

Minhyun threw his headset off. "That was just cruel!"

Seongwoo's stomach was aching from laughing hysterically. "You really suck at this."

"I-I won't lose next time!" Minhyun turned bright red and he went to the door.

"Where are you going?" 

"You said we were going to play all the games, right?" Minhyun said. "I'm going to destroy you."

The next game that Seongwoo and Minhyun played was the classic, indoor basketball. 

"This'll be more fun if we make a bet." Seongwoo said.

"Alright. If I win, then you have to do  _all_ of the chores in the estate for an entire week. No help from any of the servants either, got it?" 

"Okay, but if I win then you have to cook me something."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Seongwoo inserted an arcade coin and eyes brightened as the machine lit up and dropped balls down onto the front bin. "Now enough talking. Let's play."

The siren went off on a count of three and in unison, Seongwoo and Minhyun threw their basketballs up. Seongwoo's swiftly landed in the hoop, while Minhyun's ball hit the rim. Seongwoo held back a snicker and continued to throw in shots, each one getting inside, easily. 

His points quickly stacked while Minhyun's score was stagnant as each one of his shots either hit the rim of the hoop or was missed entirely. 

By the end of the match, Seongwoo had a score of 1294 while Minhyun had a score of 70. Tickets spat out of the machine and Seongwoo folded them up into a ball and smiled with pride.

"Shut up!" Minhyun said before Seongwoo could even say anything. "I'm...I'm just rusty because I haven't played sports in a while."

"You just suck."

"Next game!" Minhyun demanded.

Seongwoo really, really loved seeing Minhyun's competitive, childish side. It was a side to him that no one in the house saw, and a face that he never made around Haesoo.

 It made Seongwoo feel special.

They played a series of games. Three rounds of air hockey (Minhyun won), one round of a racing game (Seongwoo won), and two rounds of a shooting game (Seongwoo won again.) 

By the end, Seongwoo had a large stack of arcade tickets in his hands that could be used to trade in for prizes.

"I have a special offer for you," Seongwoo pointed at the Dance Dance Revolution machine. "If you beat me at  _that_ game, I'll give you all my tickets. If I win, you give me all of yours. How does that sound?"

"Bring it on." Minhyun stomped to the front of the line, glaring at all of the kids that were surrounding the machine, patiently waiting for their turn. "Please excuse me, I have some ass to kick."

"Minhyun, you can't just say that to them!"

"You see, children?" Minhyun pointed. "That's the boy I'm going to destroy."

For some reason, Minhyun's persuasion actually worked and they had made their way to the front of the line. Seongwoo stood on the platform, placing feet on the left and right arrows. Minhyun stood next to him with his arms crossed, waiting for Seongwoo to pick a song. 

Seongwoo chose a song with a quick beat on the hardest level, with the intention of going all out on this round. 

From the first second of the song, dozens of arrows came rushing down the screen, followed by a stampede of unsure and panicked steps. Much to his own surprise, Seongwoo was better at dancing than he thought. He quickly got a hang of the beat of the song and his body appeared to move on it's own. 

Perhaps he was a dancer in his past life or in an alternate universe?

From the corner of his eye, he took a peak at Minhyun, who was surprisingly doing extremely well. Their scores were neck and neck, and by the middle of the song, there was a large crowd of kids and teenagers in school uniforms surrounding them and cheered loudly.

DDR was a game that remained untouched since he was a child, back when he was in the middle of a dance phase that was eagerly encouraged by his father. He was admittedly a bit thrilled to play with Minhyun and reconnect with his childhood memories.   

The song was nearing the end and Seongwoo was determined to go out with a bang. He let go of all fears and thoughts that held him back and completely lost himself in the moment. He focused on his current feelings that were swept by the cheering crowd, the sweat that dripped down his face, his smile that stretched from ear to ear, the blaring music and Minhyun, who glowed brighter than any star in the midnight sky.

In absolute sync, Seongwoo and Minhyun leaped into the air and stomped on the left and right arrows, and the song came to a close. For a moment, the entire arcade was in complete silence, with only the two boys leaned over as they coughed and wheezed for air. After Seongwoo exhaled, the entire arcade erupted in loud, ferocious screams. 

Minhyun had his arms in the air, hands clenched into fists, and he spun around as children chanted his name. Seongwoo looked at the screen and revealed Minhyun as the winner. 

Minhyun turned to Seongwoo and grinned widely. 

Seongwoo's chest tightened.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, but not before Minhyun took pictures with a crowd of children who quickly became his fans. The entire situation was absolutely ridiculous, but Seongwoo did not mind. Once the hysteria calmed down, Seongwoo handed Minhyun all of his tickets and they made their way to the prize booth.

Seongwoo scanned the wall of toys that were hung on the wall and stacked on the shelves. While he was wondering if Minhyun was even  _interested_ in buying any of these toys, Minhyun suddenly came forward with a gigantic squirtle stuffed toy in his arms.

"Eh, I didn't think you'd pick  _that._ " 

"It's for Jonghyun," Minhyun said unexpectedly. "It looks like him, right?"

Seongwoo squinted his eyes at the toy and saw an immediate resemblance between the two. "It does."

"As much as I enjoyed beating you, I'd like to go home now." Minhyun said.

Seongwoo's eyes widened. It was still early, and he was afraid that Yewon was still in the estate. He wanted to be safe and make sure that she was not home when they returned.

"Um, before we do that, I definitely have to take you to this-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Minhyun said. "If I'm being honest, I've been wondering why you brought me of  _all_ people out here. I don't exactly play well with others and you definitely have other friends you could bring."

"I don't understand..."

"I know you don't like me, so what are you trying to do by bringing me here?"

Seongwoo grabbed his phone out of his pocket in a panic to come up with something. There was a series of missed calls from Jonghyun, which he quickly scrolled past before Minhyun could see, but he paused at a recent text and missed call from Jihoon.

"Hold on," Seongwoo dialed Jihoon's number and he picked up on the first ring. "Hey, what's happen-"

"Seongwoo, are you busy?! If you are, you need to drop everything right now and get your ass over here. This is an emergency, I'm seriously not sure what the hell I'm supposed to do and Woojin isn't home because-"

"Wait, wait, slow down." Seongwoo said. "Talk slower. What's going on?"

"Okay, so there was a large group of people that were demanding to get into the restaurant - scary looking dudes, lemme tell you. They said they booked a reservation weeks ago and I told them that due to circumstances, we're closed until further notice. They started threatening to report us for bad service and I didn't want that, so I let them in and now they're waiting to eat but I don't know how to cook! I'm seriously freaking out and I'm hiding in the kitchen. I don't know what to do, which is why I need you here!"

"First of all, pull yourself together Jihoon."

"I'm trying!"

"Look, I'll be there as soon as I can. Just stall until then. Serve drinks, make appetizers, do whatever you can, alright?" Seongwoo hung up and groaned loudly.

Minhyun blinked. "You looked stressed."

"It looks like there's been a change in plans." Seongwoo gulped. "How would you like to be a chef at a five star restaurant?"

 

* * *

 

 

In the rush of the moment, Seongwoo called a taxi to speed him and Minhyun over to the next city over where the bed and breakfast was. Seongwoo promised to do whatever favor Minhyun asked of him as long as he helped him out today, and he assumed it was the heat of the moment that made Minhyun agree. 

From the outside, loud yells could already be heard. They rushed inside and saw a panicked and pale Jihoon who was attempting to console with over a dozen angry men. 

Minhyun quickly rushed into the kitchen, and Seongwoo tossed him a recipe book created by his hand. He entrusted the kitchen to him, while Seongwoo and Jihoon handled the floor. 

By the time the first dish came out, Seongwoo recognized the title as one of the classic dishes from the restaurant, but the scent and general appearance was completely foreign to his eyes. Minhyun had made it his own, and by the way the customers eyes' beamed with absolute joy from their first bites, he knew he was right to believe in him.

Initially, Seongwoo planned to serve just to the men that were already in the restaurant, but the smell of the food was so desirable that crowd of people began to enter the restaurant and suddenly every table was filled with eager customers. Woojin arrived in the middle of the chaos, and despite being extremely confused over the situation, he quickly joined the kitchen and helped Minhyun out.

Woojin knew the meals almost as well as Seongwoo's aunt herself, and took over while Minhyun went on the floor.

There was a piano that sat in the corner of the room, midst antique vases and covered in dust. It caught Minhyun's eye the moment he walked into the inn, and Seongwoo could tell he had a strong urge to play. It appeared that some internal force held the boy back, but Seongwoo gave him a light push and a nod of support.

Minhyun hesitantly sat down and lifted the cabinet, revealing the white keys underneath. The moment his fingers touched the keys, the unique melody instantly caught the attention of everyone in the room. It was an uplifting and lighthearted song, one that lifted spirits and made cheeks burn with love. 

Every time that Seongwoo heard Minhyun play, it felt like the first time his ears heard sound. The sensation of a star exploding inside of him, the feeling of wanting to stay frozen in time in that exact moment forever, and the way Minhyun shined in everything he did.

At first, Seongwoo thought it was just the piano that made Minhyun stand out. But throughout the day, he realized that it didn't matter if Minhyun was screaming over a video game, standing proudly over DDR, cooking delicious meals effortlessly or playing the piano; they did not make Minhyun beautiful, it was Minhyun that made them beautiful.

Eventually, the restaurant came to a close and the sun had set for the day. Seongwoo was absolutely exhausted, and he could tell just by looking at Jihoon, Woojin and Minhyun, that they all felt the same. They all sat down on one of the tables, eating the remains of one of the dishes that Woojin had made. 

"Now that things have calmed down, I feel like I can properly ask...who is he?" Jihoon pointed at Minhyun.

"Ah, right." Seongwoo said awkwardly. "Uh, this is Minhyun. He's my  _boss_? Kind of."

"Wait, this is the guy that paid for auntie's-"

"Alright, that's enough talking for today!" Seongwoo stood up. "It's late. Minhyun and I should make our way back."

"You're kidding, right?" Woojin smirked. "It's too late for taxis and the last bus was an hour ago."

"Well, that's not a problem, you can call Jonghyun to pick us up, right?" Seongwoo asked.

"The car is in the shop right now getting a repair." 

"So you're telling me..." Seongwoo couldn't even finish the sentence.

"What's the big deal about having Minhyun stay the night? We're an inn." Woojin said and walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, just show him one of our rooms." Jihoon shrugged. "That's no problem for you, right Minhyun?"

"Um-" Minhyun started.

Woojin exited the kitchen with two bottles of soju in his hands. "We should welcome in Minhyun with open arms! He is our savior, after all! Come on, let's drink to celebrate this joyous night. And Auntie isn't home, so she can't kick our ass for getting drunk."

"I don't drink." Minhyun said.

"Eh, that so?" Woojin popped the bottle open and poured three shot glasses. "Well, then Seongwoo will drink for you. He's hilarious when he's drunk."

"Hey, I have a strong tolerance to alcohol." Seongwoo frowned and took a shot, sighing at the strong taste. "You see that Minhyun?"

And exactly half a bottle and six shots later, Seongwoo was piss drunk.

The room was spinning and his head was pounding. His face felt like it was on hour and his thoughts felt like a jumbled puzzle with no connecting pieces. Jihoon and Woojin slowed dance to shitty R&B music from Jihoon's phone, giggling like idiots as they did so. 

Three songs later, Jihoon ran upstairs to throw up and Woojin passed out on a table.

Minhyun remained in the same seat for hours, simply watching as Seongwoo entertained himself. Seongwoo frowned and aggressively pulled a chair over and sat down.

He leaned closer to Minhyun and poked his forehead.

"Oi, you. Wanna know something? You're a brat, full of shit, you give me the most ridiculous and time consuming tasks, you're seriously picky, way too obsessed with cleanliness and-"

"How is this any different from when he's sober..." Minhyun muttered.

"But you know what I was thinkin' after we played DDR?" Seongwoo smiled like an idiot and pressed his hand over his heart. "If _that's_ the smile Minhyun makes when he wins, I don't mind losing to every time."

He rested the side of his head on the table. Minhyun followed suit and they stared quietly at one another. 

"Did you have fun today?" 

"I...I guess I didn't hate it." Minhyun admitted. "Although I still don't know why you brought me along."

Seongwoo burrowed his brows together and a weird sound came out of his mouth. "Your...step-mom...I just wanted to..."

He was losing consciousness. His eyes grew heavier and his only thought was to sleep the night away.

"What? What about her?" Minhyun's eyes widened and he took out his phone. "Yewon visited the estate? That was around the time we left..." He paused to look at Seongwoo. You... you purposely did this for me." 

He made a pained expression.

"Why? Why would you go through all this for me?"

Seongwoo fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Seongwoo woke up to a killer headache, a dry throat and his mind completely blank of the night before. He was familiar with his surroundings and recognized it as his bedroom by the comforting sensation of his bed and his household scent. 

He sat up, feeling his entire body ache, and saw his messy hair, red eyes and swollen face in the mirror. The last memory he recalled was him sitting in the restaurant, taking shots one after another with Jihoon and Woojin. Minhyun watched.

_Minhyun._

Crap. 

Where was he?

Seongwoo put on a pair of slipped, combed his hair out with his fingertips and quickly ran downstairs. He saw two shadows coming from the kitchen and stopped his tracks.

Minhyun, Jihoon and Woojin were talking. He stepped into a corner to eavesdrop. 

"I'll admit, I thought you were going to be like the other pretentious, rich assholes I've encountered in my life." Woojin said. "But I can tell, you're different."

"Has Seongwoo told you anything about me?" Minhyun asked.

"As if." Woojin chuckled. "He barely told us anything and just left. He's not the type to open up to others easily. I get the feeling you're like that too."

It was silent for a moment, and Seongwoo guessed it was a sign of mutual agreement.

"I know we've just met, but could I ask a favor of you?" Jihoon said. "Please take care of Seongwoo."

Seongwoo was taken back by the sudden request.

"Seongwoo lost his father at a young age, and was extremely dependant on him. From the day his father died to today, no one has been able to have a proper talk with him about it. He won't even open up to his aunt." Jihoon said. "He acts strong and capable but he's human and is just as vulnerable as the rest of us. Inevitably, there  _will_ come a day where he can't hold up anymore. He's one of my best friends but there are things I can't do, so please... The day his walls come down, could you be there for him?"

Seongwoo placed his hand over his chest to resist the throbbing pain. As the kitchen grew silent, Seongwoo walked into the kitchen with a smile, pretending that he did not catch even a second of their conversation.

"Good morning, I feel like crap." Seongwoo said.

"You look like it too!" Woojin snickered, messing his hair with his hands. He walked off into the hall with Jihoon, closing the door behind him.

Minhyun was washing dishes in the sink. Seongwoo immediately noticed that not only was he in a different set of clothes, but they were pajamas from Seongwoo's closet. An oversized wrinkly white shirt that said 'I HEART SEOUL' on it and red plaid bottoms. Seeing Minhyun in his clothes made Seongwoo's thoughts go into a frenzy - he could not think straight at all.

Minhyun turned off the faucet and picked up a plate that was on the side. He approached Seongwoo. 

"I made you food, as promised."

Minhyun walked out and Seongwoo watched in awe as he set the table.

Woojin returned to the kitchen and smirked at Seongwoo's empty expression. He leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Woojin, did you carry me upstairs last night?"

Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Me? No way, I couldn't even stand." Woojin shook his head. "But I did I wake up for a bit last night. I remember it _very_ well. Minhyun carried you upstairs, bridal style." He brushed past Seongwoo, and winked. "I have to admit, Ong... It was kind of romantic."

Seongwoo's ears turned bright red.


End file.
